Harry Potter and the Last Shadow
by Fyrius
Summary: Seven years ago, they met to protect another world... Seven years ago, their leader discovered them and died a hero... Seven years ago, they were all human, innocent and free. Now, Hermione, Luna, Fell, and the Digidestined are preparing for the fight of their lives, the one that will decide their fates. Fyrius presents the conclusion to the series Harry Potter and the Digidestined
1. Anticipation

**A.N. At last, the beginning of the end. I don't know how many people will read this and know what is going on because they've been here from the beginning but I do know that this story has been a long one. Though it's only been a few months since that fatal day, it feels like I've been doing this for years. It's been a while since I've put the disclaimer in so here goes:**

** I do not own Harry Potter or its characters, Digimon or its characters, Yu-Gi-Oh, Bleach or any other anime, book, or movie in this. I DO however own Una "Fell" Arbory and Sara Tozer as well as the designs for the Zanpakuto (Just by being the first to come up with them.) Every instance that uses characters and ideas not mine were taken not for profit but for the sake of a good story. Credit for these things go to their creators. I also want to give credit to Sara Wheeler, Robin Tozer, and Shara Raziel for the following: Many ideas from this story were inspired by Shara Raziel's The Ultimat Gathering of Digidestined. Sara Wheeler and Robin Tozer receive joint credit for the creation of Sara Tozer as she is a derivative of both women.**

** There, now that that's done with I give you Harry Potter and the Last Shadow.**

Hermione Granger woke up to the sound of beeping monitors. When she had arrived back from her sixth year at school, her parents had quickly noticed her bandaged left arm. Ignoring the girl's pleas, they had removed the bandages to see the purpled flesh and the blade made of strange metal. Shocked at the sight, the Grangers had quickly taken Hermione to the doctor who promptly admitted her to the hospital. Almost seven years ago, Hermione had received a letter from a school for magic, the school for magic, Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. There, she had met many students who did not like her "know it all" attitude and had then given her the cold shoulder. When one boy, Ron Weasley had mentioned Hermione's lack of friends, the girl had quickly locked herself in the bathroom.

Unbeknownst to her, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher had let a mountain troll loose on the school, sending all but two students into a panic. Those students, the famous Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, had run to find her and warn her when the troll found her. The boys quickly stopped the troll and the three had become fast friends. However, it soon became apparent that one or both of them was keeping secrets. First Harry, then Ron would disappear randomly with a large group of students, only to come back injured… or changed. Last year, she had found out the truth. Harry was now a being of fire who led a group called the Digidestined against threats to Hogwarts. Ron was third in command of a group of shape changers that served with the Digidestined, and Hermione was quickly thrust into the fray. Before the year was up, she bonded with a sword as old as the Big Bang, a sword that was quickly killing the flesh in her left arm. It had turned out that Hermione had only been born with half a soul and the sword contained the other half. Of course if Hermione had told her parents, she would be in a different kind of hospital. Well, they would soon find out when Hermione broke out of the hospital to attend her seventh and final year. Or so she thought.

…

Tom Marvolo Riddle, known as Lord Voldermort, the most powerful Dark Wizard alive was angry. First, his barely loyal servant, Lucius Malfoy had gone missing with his son and then the man's wife vanished too. Then, he had gone to the Parkinsons to recruit their daughter when the girl had stood up to him. He remembered the day well.

…

One Month Ago

_If the Malfoys won't serve, I know the Parkinsons won't dare refuse. _The Dark Wizard thought as he blasted their door open.

"My lord." Henry Parkinson said, bowing "Why have you come my lord?"

"I wish to recruit your daughter."

"Our little Pansy? It would be an honor!" Harriet Parkinson said, calling her daughter down.

The pug-nosed Pansy walked downstairs, took one look at Voldermort, and groaned. "What do you want, Tom?"

"Pansy!" Her parents exclaimed in shock.

"My name is Lord Voldermort and I wish for you to join me."

Pansy rolled her eyes and then spoke up, "Why? So you can take over the world? No thank you, I would rather die. In fact Tom Marvolo Riddle." She said, dragging his name out as long as she could, "I don't think you'll be around for long. So, have you found your dear friend Harry yet? No? I thought not. Neither can live while the other survives so ticktock."

Voldermort began to purple but Pansy smiled, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Avada Kedavra!" A green light flew out of the wizard's wand only to strike a stair.

"I told you." Pansy said from a few steps higher. "Well now, I must be going. "Accio trunk!" With that, the girl's school trunk flew into her hand and she bowed to Voldermort before walking past it and walking through the doorway.

…

Present Day

The girl was right, he hadn't been able to locate that mistake. Even worse, his spies at the Ministry of Magic had discovered that they had intercepted owls that had their day to day activities listed.

…

**Dark Lord's Plot Foiled Again**

** When He Who Must Not Be Named appeared at the Bones residence last night, Judge Amelia Bones thought her time was up. However, the killing curse was blocked by the Damon Family. Father Spencer Damon runs a gym for magical and nonmagical people alike in Ottery St. Catchpole while Marcus teaches magical children how to hide their abilities and Kristy is preparing for her fourth year at Hogwarts. However, the family mysteriously vanished one month ago only to appear at times like this to foil sinister plots. This reporter learned that the family has been wandering the British Isles to lay protections on muggle households and stop wrongdoing. They have also dropped hints about His downfall and acting on the orders of one they call their leader. "We can't say much but we can assure you we are not affiliated with any wizarding group. We also encourage those who have been targeted to go into hiding as you may not be so lucky. However, try to protect the innocent as much as you can. Though at times we may not like them, they should not have to die because of our mistakes." Spencer Damon told this reporter before vanishing. Judge Bones wishes to thank her saviors and assures us that she will follow the advice given, already mentioning retirement in the countryside.**

Dudley Dursley looked up from the paper to see his mother and father come in. Noting the name of the paper, his father Vernon Dursley quickly ripped it out of his hands and tore the paper to shreds. At that, Dudley sighed and fingered his long blond hair. "Dad, I don't see what your problem is. I'm not practicing spells in front of you, just reading the paper."

Vernon, a large man with a mustache glared at his son before speaking. "Just because you went there doesn't mean I will tolerate it."

At this, Dudley couldn't help but grin. Before last year, his father would never have said that to him. However, as a result of his assistance attacking Lord Voldermort, Dudley had been admitted to Hogwarts for his protection. There, he had learned that he was actually magical, returning home with an arsenal of spells.

"Now now Vernon." Dudley's mum, Petunia started.

"Now now nothing. Petunia, why are you acting like this craziness is no big deal? First we get a baby at our doorstep with an odd letter, then the owls, then the burning, then the hair and now this? He's turning into that, that boy."

Dudley grinned before cutting into his father's rant. "Merlin's Beard, I hope not."

"Boy!"

"I mean after all, who'd want to be part wolf? Can you image the shedding?"

Petunia quickly hid her mouth behind her hand, "D-dear, he has a point there."

Vernon turned but before he could do anything, Harry Potter, his nephew entered the house with a paper under his arm and quickly shifted to his real form. Harry was a being part fire and part wolf who stood at nine feet tall with red, yellow, and orange hair that went down to his lupine ankles that danced in a nonexistent wind. With a sigh, the beast threw a paper at Dudley and one to Petunia before sitting on a chair and opening up his own. "Anything good in the Prophet Dudley?"

"I don't know, Mr. Denial here confiscated it."

"Why am I not surprised?"

"Really Harry," Petunia cut in, "Why did you get a copy of the New York Times?"

"The Americans have been right on occasion." Harry said from his paper, one of the many London papers.

Vernon's face got redder and redder until he screamed, "That's it. I demand to know what is going on!"

With a sigh, Harry folded his paper and stood up, looking down at his uncle. "Well, we're seeing if we can figure out Lord Voldermort's, the wizard who wants to kill me, well we want to figure out what he's planning."

"So why don't we throw you out?"

"Because he has more targets than me in mind. One of those is your son."

"Dudley?"

"Well anyone would want to kill me after I stuck a sword through some of his minions." Dudley said with a shrug.

Petunia smiled at her son and then spoke up. "So when are we leaving for the Digital World?"

Harry smiled. "Today actually. And since we are part computer now, we don't need one."

Petunia smiled. "Yes. Well, I'd better get changed."


	2. Summer meetings

Hermione flagged a nurse and asked her the date. "Oh, it's June 26th."

At this, Hermione sat bolt upright, "It's today!"

"What is dear?"

Hermione grinned and her eyes flashed silver, "The day I'm leaving."

"D-don't do anything hasty now."

Hermione pulled the bandages off from her arm, causing the nurse to gasp. "Thank you for making me comfortable. If you see people in black cloaks and hoods, hide." Hermione lifted her arm and cut a portal in the sky before pulling off her IV drip and jumping through. As she left, the portal closed and the nurse was left wondering what she was going to tell her superior.

…

Draco Malfoy knew he'd get an earful for bringing his parents but they had all been on the run, leaving no choice. However, he took the risk, opening the Digi-Gate program in his mind and jumping in, dragging his parents behind him.

The Meadow of the Beast

As the elder Malfoys looked on, the Digidestined, Hermione, Luna, and Lavender exchanced greetings, hugs, and other gossip. Curious, the two adults listened in on the gossip, shocked at what they heard.

"So I read about the time you stopped Tom from taking on the Bones'."

"Did you really call him Tom to his face?"

"You guys have been on the run for how long?"

"Sensei taught me another attack."

"I think my husband is close to figuring it out. Took him long enough."

"Sadie was so worried so I had to bring her along. In fact, she tripped me and caused me to step in a pile."

"I got compared to a common dog again."

"Well you weren't admitted to a hospital."

…

After a while, Harry waved everyone over and began to speak. "We've gotten no word from Yoshi or Homer about the Ministry falling and Ron hasn't picked anything up from his father. The Order is clueless about what to do while Sirius has been keeping his neighborhood safe. However, Voldermort has not been subtle and the Shadow of Water hasn't surfaced yet."

"Pardon me." Lucius Malfoy spoke up. "But what is going on here, who are all these people?"

"Dad, we're the Digidestined."

Petunia snickered at Draco's reply before speaking up. "Most of us have a different make-up than the rest of the world. Those that are made up of data as well as flesh and blood are known as the Digidestined. I'm Petunia Dursley and this is my son Dudley and nephew Harry."

With that, the group went around and introduced themselves. Finally, Harry turned back to the group and finished his speech. "As we know, a lot of people graduated this year. So that leaves us with fewer members. Joe, Sora, and Matt are no longer school age, leaving Tai, TK, Kari, Izzi, and Mimi at school. From the second group Davis, Willis, Yolei, and Ken are leaving with only Cody remaining. Everyone except Kazu and Kenta will stay at school from Tamers. The Legendary Warriors are also only losing one member, JP. Finally, Kristy and Keenan will be going to school. With only twelve students, we'll have to keep our guards up. Those of you who are not returning, your job will be to track down the horcruxes that Dumbledore mentioned last year and smuggle them into Hogwarts as well as keeping tabs on the Ministry and Voldermort."

…

Several weeks went by as Harry and the Digidestined prepared for the new year. The older ones had packed bags and began wandering around England while the school age students were busy receiving reports and scouring papers for clues. A week before his human birthday, Harry crept down the stairs one night after Dudley had fallen asleep. Hearing him approach, Vernon scowled and opened his mouth to speak up while Petunia looked on.

"I know it's late but I'm leaving." Harry began.

"Now?" Petunia said.

"Yes. Someone will probably show up in a week to take me to a hideout or something but I need to prepare for the year."

Petunia looked at her husband for a moment before turning back to Harry. "I know that the Shadow will attack but you are acting like it'll be different this year."

Harry sighed and ran his claws through his hair. "It will. Now that Dumbledore's gone, Tom will try to get at the school. When that day comes… When that day comes, I'll have to face my magical destiny."

"What is going on boy?" Vernon asked.

"I'm going to miss you calling me that Uncle Vernon. On my birthday if no one has come for me, flee. If they have, go with them. Aunt Petunia, you have your orders." At that, Harry grabbed a backpack and his racing broom. Then, he waved a claw and walked out.

Only to run into Dudley. "Don't even Harry. I'm coming." The boy said.

Harry looked at Dudley's eyes and then nodded. With that, the boy mounted the wolf beast and they prepared to leave. Before they could take off, a snowy owl and a phoenix flew down and landed on Dudley's shoulders.

…

Atop a tall mountain in a strange world sat six creatures. The first two were a male and female angel with multiple wings. Next to them stood a white rabbit with golden earrings. Off to the side were another trio, a long Chinese dragon, a white striped tiger, and a strange looking firebird. The two groups were known as six of the eight Digimon Sovereign, the gods of the Digital World and they were meeting to discuss the past and the future.

"This is all very strange." Zhuquaomon the firebird said, "No one from this world was supposed to be involved."

"I agree." The female angel, Ophanimon concurred. "Even more interesting is the fact that the boy Harry Potter was the first one to unlock his powers."

"That's not what I mean. Considering the time of that first attack, the boy would have never been able to awaken without outside influence." Zhuquaomon said.

"Yes." Cherubimon the rabbit said, "And there was also the incident last year with the diseased Digivices. How can a means of communication be corrupted in that way?"

Baihumon the tiger looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking up, "There were more incidents; the rift in time, the fight with Shihai, even the woman arriving here that make me wonder if this isn't an influence of the final shadow."

"But why," Seraphimon the male angel asked, "Would it give them an advantage?"

Azulongmon the dragon raised his head. "Lord Fenglongmon. It all adds up especially since the first incident here took place in his territory. Zhuquaomon, did you give them the medallions?"

"Of course."

"Then we will have to activate them. It is our only hope."

**A.N. For those of you wondering, major players will be: Harry, Sara, Petunia, Dudley, and Hermione. Some of the others do play a part but it is no longer a large one with the possible exception of Takuya and Draco. Also, as with the last HP book, there will be a bonus chapter or so detailing many years later. As such, pairings do come into this book. For those who have read the books, the pairings will not be the same. I will guarantee that Harry does not get together with Ginny and Ron does not get together with Hermione. However, Pansy does get together with Draco. Also, Hermione will not get a pairing. Pairings aside, the endings of 01 and Savers/DATS do come into play later on so for those who are curious, that's before 01 meets the Dark Masters to the end and after Kurata uses the last Space Oscillation Device. I do have the seventh book and have relied on it for reference but certain events take place at different times. With that said, I have been writing every day and dreaming about it every night. I also have several stories that are a few pages long but am unsure which one to post first. If you want, I could put it to vote, if you want an HP Bleach crossover, Bleach FMAB, FMAB Avatar, or none of the above just let me know via private message or review. If you don't, I'll probably pick whichever one looks most well written and go with it.**


	3. Parting is such sweet sorrow

**A.N. Yes I posted the last chapter on this same day but wanted to break up the A.N.'s. For those of you wondering if I proofread my work, I don't. But I noticed that some chapters had issues. I am aware of this and will try to go back and clean things up especially since part of the story is actually missing. Now for Chapter 3**

A week later, Petunia Dursley was pacing back and forth in the house. The day had gone smoothly, but she knew it couldn't last. She halted as the clock stuck four and realized it was time to get ready. Last year, she had met the Digidestined after learning about Harry's past. In a fit of motherly rage, Petunia had gone to the Digital World and thrown herself in front of her son. At that moment, a strange knife appeared in her hand, changing her life forever. Now, she walked upstairs and moved the bed over a little bit. After she was satisfied, she moved the rug she had placed under the bed and then pried up a floorboard. With a nervous glance at the door to check if her husband had returned, she finally bent down and removed the items underneath the floorboard. The first was a strange duffle bag/backpack she had retrofitted and stocked with supplies. Tied to it was a bedroll for sleeping as well as some extra rope just in case. This she set aside while pulling out the next item, a folded black jumpsuit. This she had made after her adventure last year, carefully sewing whenever her husband was not home. Hopefully, the handmade armor would do its job. She quickly stripped out of her clothes and put the suit on, sighing with relief at the fit. With this on, she grabbed the last item, a sword belt with her knife securely fastened in the sheath. She knew that it would eventually come to her aide so she tied the belt to her waist and tied her hair up with some ribbon she had found. After this, she looked at the mirror in the room to see a black clad warrior staring back at her. At this, Petunia was shocked, she looked like… like… Petunia pushed everything back to the way it was and then walked downstairs as her husband entered.

"Petunia!" Vernon said, shocked.

"Vernon, I have something to tell you."

"We aren't…?"

"No dear but I will be leaving you for some time. Tonight, the wizard's Order of the Phoenix will come to take us to a safe location. However, I will not be going. Instead, I am going to be searching for a way to defeat Voldermort."

"Pu-Petunia!" Before Vernon could say anything else, a knock came at the door.

At the knock, Petunia got up and slid back a panel she had installed. "Yes?"

"We're here to get Harry Potter."

"And you are?"

"I'm Daedalus Diggle."

"Wait, I've seen you. I take it you are from the Order of the Phoenix then. Could your leader step forward?"

At that, there was a large debate until a man with a fake eye appeared. "I am Allister Moody."

Petunia thought for a moment and then spoke, "How long did you teach at Hogwarts and why did you leave?"

The man's real eye widened in shock before he answered, "I taught for one year however it was really an imposter. I left the school because I was unwell and because I had told Albus I would only teach for one term. What was the last thing Albus said to you?"

"The last thing he said to me in writing was 'Remember my last' while the last thing he said to me verbally was 'I am sorry ma'am, but I don't know if I can Apparate with three."

At this, the man snickered while Petunia closed the board and opened the door.

Allister "Mad-eye" Moody quickly looked around before asking, "Where is Potter?"

Petunia smiled, "He left a week ago."

"He was ordered to wait here so we could break the enchantment! Doesn't he know he has the Trace on him?"

Petunia barked with laughter, "That enchant expired long ago and as far as I am aware, digital beings can't be traced. I am actually surprised that you were able to keep the Trace on him after he died."

This piece of information caused Moody to pause, "So that's why we weren't able to Trace him. We had to resort to other measures to keep tabs on him."

Petunia picked up her bag and swung it over her shoulder, "Well I must be going."

"Going?" Moody asked.

"Of course, Evil Lords to see, horcruxes to track, that sort of thing."

Moody stared at her, shocked that she could say that with a straight face.

"Then again, I could go to the Burrow with you." Petunia said, smiling at a line of people coming in.

"How do you know about that?"

Petunia just shrugged, "Ron just told me."

At this, the tall and lanky red-head looked up and waved. "Hi Petunia."

"You know each other?" Moody asked.

"We met last year. So, Polyjuice Potion, right? Harry thought it might be that so he left me some hairs." Petunia reached into a pocket and tossed Moody a vial filled with strangely colored hair.

Looking at this, Moody seemed to come to a decision and half an hour later, Vernon had been escorted to his car while seven copies of Harry Potter sat on brooms and thestrals, strange horse creatures that could only be seen by those who had seen death.

One of these Harry's sat in the side-car of an enormous motorcycle, knees jammed in place by an owl cage and a black bag. Moody had decided that Petunia would come along as she knew too much. The driver of the 'cycle, Rubeus Hagrid was a giant of a man who beamed down at what he thought was Harry. "Art'r helped me install a few new features. This one here, t'is causes a brick wall to appear and t'is…"

"Hagrid, shouldn't we get going?"

"Ah, righ'." With that, Hagrid revved up his motorcycle and they were off.

For a few minutes, everything was fine until a trio of Death Eaters showed up. Hagrid quickly used up his traps, leaving one wizard still flying. At this, Petunia ducked low and hoped that no one else was coming.

"Avada Kedavra!" The wizard yelled.

Quick as a flash, another Harry, this one followed by an owl flew up, "Protego!" The boy blocked the spell and followed it up with another, "Expelliarmus!"

The effect was immediate, with a scream of, "It's Potter!" the man went down. Next, Voldermort appeared, causing Harry to laugh.

"Hi Tommy-boy." Before the Dark Wizard could respond, the boy then looked over his shoulder at the bike, "Hi Hagrid, hi mum!"

"Avada Kedavra!"

"Immobulus!"

"You think you've won, haven't you Potter?"

"Oh, I know I have. I protected my mum and my teacher."

"I killed your parents!"

"Nah, you killed Harry's parents."

"WHAT!?" The wizard roared. However, it was too late, the boy had flown off.

The bike was starting to shudder from the strain of the rapid flight when Voldermort flew at them. At that moment, the sidecar disconnected from the bike, sending Petunia down. Someone slowed the fall and she leapt out, drawing the only weapon she had, her knife. Two years ago, she would have hid but she was no longer the same person, she knew that magic wasn't the only thing at work. Noting Hagrid hadn't seen the sidecar disengage, Petunia realized she was alone, and it scared her. She remembered the last thing she had told her husband, "Don't die on me because I won't die on you." She couldn't keep that promise, she couldn't… Something was coming down toward her, something green. She knew what it was, she knew what it meant. All she could do was turn and stare at it in horrified wonder.

Harry Potter, the real Harry had just caught Mad-eye when he saw a killing curse. Quickly looking at the trajectory, he saw where, who it was headed for. "Aunt Petunia, no!" With that, the fire being sped down, down but he knew he wasn't going to make it. He'd have to reveal himself but even then it would be too late. Fawkes could heal poison or life, but not like this. All he could do was protect George who was in another confrontation, fire raining from his cheeks.

_Petunia…_

Around Petunia, time seemed to slow, the curse taking longer to get to her. She heard a strange voice calling to her, a familiar voice. However, it was so soft that she couldn't hear it well over the sound of her tears.

"Mum!"

At Dudley's shout, she was snapped out of her misery. At that moment, the voice called to her,

_Petunia, I can help. If you can hear me, get down._

Petunia didn't need the voice to tell her that for she had just tripped over a root, sprawling back into a tree.

Petunia hit the tree and suddenly she saw colors, green, red, white, brown, all of them. She thought she had died, that the green was another killing curse but she could hear something, almost a snippet of memory, "When we are at our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change." Petunia looked back on her life, realizing that this was her lowest point. Her life flashed before her eyes and she saw the jealousy she had harbored, actually saw it. It was a snake curled around a heart, restricting it. Seeing it, Petunia realized it was hard for her to breathe somehow. She remembered how she had wanted so bad to get a letter like Lily, how she had turned bitter when she hadn't. But then she realized that it wasn't her destiny, hers was the opposite, technology. Petunia took the only weapon she had, her knife and thrust it at the snake. As the blade went in, she felt a huge pain, but she persisted, she needed to stop being jealous. The snake vanished and the heart opened to show a fairy standing there.

As she saw the fairy, her eyes opened though she didn't know she had shut them, "Fall from the trees, Rīfu no kōtō!" In one motion, she threw the blade in the directing the curse had come, and though the blade had left her hand, she found she was still holding it. The next moment, the blade returned and she had realized that she had thrown one blade as another appeared. Holding the twin knives, she slashed at a hairy wolf man who had tracked her down, running as she did so. She quickly gained ground until she felt herself pass through a barrier. When she crossed it, she collapsed, one blade disappearing, leaving her holding only one in her loose fingers.

"Harry? Harry?"

Petunia looked up to see a man and a woman looking at her. Realizing she was still in disguise, Petunia looked up, "Harry's on his way I think. I haven't seen him."

"But we saw you on the bike, Harry was supposed to be on the bike."

"Harry left last week."

At this, the man sighed and ran a finger through his hair. "Well, we might as well get you inside. Hagrid's worried, he didn't notice you had fallen until he had gotten back here. He wanted to leave but we wouldn't let him."

"So this isn't the Burrow, how are we getting there?"

"Follow me."

Before the man could show her, Petunia heard the thump of feet landing on the ground. Curious, she turned and saw a Harry standing there. "So who are you?"

The boy looked up, "How many presents did Dudley receive on his 11th birthday?"

Petunia thought for a moment, "They covered the whole table, there were… 36 I think? But then Dudley threw a fit and we bought him two more, making it 38."

At that, the boy smiled and ran up to Petunia. "Oh mum I was so worried when I saw the killing curse. How did you survive?"

"I-I don't know, I saw a creature and then I threw my weapon but there was another in my hand…"

"Well, we should get going." The man said. With that, the man escorted the two to a bedroom where a brush sat on a nightstand. Hagrid, already there was touching it with a finger. After getting the OK from her son, Petunia touched it as well, with Dudley grabbing a bristle. The brush glowed blue and then the three were in a warm living room.

"Harry!" A red haired woman yelled, only stare with her mouth open as she noticed Petunia. "Harry?" For both Dudley and Petunia felt themselves shifting to their real forms, Dudley sitting down in exhaustion. "Where's Harry?"

"We split to cover more ground but I haven't seen him since." Dudley said.

Before the woman could respond, a tall redhead and a haggard man appeared. As soon as they arrived, the two started arguing about a comet they had seen.

"I'm telling you Remus, it pushed my broom away from that curse!"

"And I'm telling you that that just isn't possible George!" the haggard man, Lupin yelled.

"Actually," Dudley and Petunia cut in, "It is."

George eyeballed the pair and then spoke up, "Dudley, when you meet wizards, what is the first thing you do?"

Dudley froze for a moment and then laughed. "I used to grab the seat of my pants and hide it because seven years ago, Hagrid jinxed me, giving me a pig's tail. What is the one possession you gave to Harry Potter?"

"Uh… a piece of parchment?" George said, turning red.

Petunia thought for a moment before speaking up, "I'm guessing you're Lupin so what was the hardest spell you ever taught Harry Potter and why?"

"I taught him how to conjure a Patronus because he was having bad reactions to some Dementors. How much magical blood runs on your side of the family?"

"Not much. My side of the family has only produced two wizards and a witch."

"Why were we betrayed if Harry wasn't even with us?" Lupin wondered.

"Well," Dudley said "The Death Eater didn't call Voldy until I used my disarming spell."

At that, Lupin was angry, "You WHAT!?"

"I'm sorry, it was the one freshest in my mind. I only did two years of magic because we were dismissed in April after Dumbledore's death."

Before Lupin could reply, there was a noise coming from the back. Dudley got up and ran after Lupin to see a strange man that Lupin identified as Kingsley Shacklebolt and a person who was just changing back. As the change ended, Dudley ran up to the man, wand pointed. "How many people won the Triwizard Tournament and why?"

The man, Cedric Diggory stared for a moment before speaking, "Four of us won. After an acromantula attacked, Harry Potter, Takuya Kanbara, and Victor Krum helped me defeat him. We all agreed to take the cup which turned into a portkey, we…"

"Hello again, Cedric." Dudley said.

Cedric opened his mouth to check Dudley when Lupin, who had just checked Kingsley cut him off with a wave. "He's been checked."

"So who is left?" Dudley asked when everyone had gotten inside.

"Bill, Fleur, Mundungus, and Alister." The red headed woman, Molly Weasley replied.

With that, the group heard a thump and saw the four mentioned arrive with yet another Harry. This boy looked at everyone before turning to Molly, "What is the one thing you dread the most?"

"My family outliving me." Molly said.

Lupin ran over and opened his mouth but before he could say anything, Dudley said, "What does your Zanpakuto really look like?"

Harry smiled, "A flaming dragon and a phoenix. They love to sit in their tree atop a mountain. What does yours look like?"

Dudley sighed, "I do not know. Though I have unlocked shikai, I have never met Aramusha."

Harry nodded, "Everyone's been checked here." With that, he rubbed his goggles, "Ok Dudley, what did you do?"

"I have no idea."

"Harry, he used Expelliarmus." Lupin provided.

"So?"

"Harry, the spell you used to take Voldermort down the first time was legendary, everyone thinks that spell is your calling card."

"And with that happy note, have you gotten any news Ron?" Harry asked.

Ron closed his eyes and put a hand to his temple. "Uh… Kari's off in Albania, Ken's keeping an eye on the HQ, Takato's got a lead on Hufflepuff's item, Takuya is heading this way but Koji thinks the snake is one, Marcus is coming this way, Keenan's got his eyes on Tom, and Pansy and Draco are coming as well."

"And Hermione?"

"I can't get a read on her. It's like she isn't alive but I have no indication that she is dead."

Harry huffed, "Well keep trying."

"I will."


	4. Birthdays and official business

After a small amount of sleep, the house woke up and prepared for another event, Harry's seventeenth birthday. Or at least, Bill and Molly did. At each mention of today, Harry got a sinking feeling. If you wanted to get technical, Harry wasn't 17, he was 6. When he had originally gotten mixed up with the Digidestined, it had resulted in his death and rebirth. Everyone else however, didn't know and it pained Harry to keep his second mother and Bill from the truth.

However, it soon became apparent that even those who knew were celebrating his birthday with good cheer, Quidditch, and good cheer. Around eleven, guests started to arrive from all around the world, starting with Hermione, her bandaged hand causing a great deal of fuss from Ms. Weasley. Marcus, Kristy, and Spencer showed up next, all with large smiles on their faces. Kari's group arrived next, looking dead on their feet from a plane flight from Albania. Miki, Megumi, and Sampson were next, shortly followed by Ken's team. Around four, Sara and the Tamers walked in, closely followed by Minerva. Finally, the Malfoys, Pansy, Homer, Yoshi, Thomas, and Arthur Weasley showed up.

At seven, the cake was set up outside and everyone was ready to celebrate but they were interrupted by a few more visitors; Luna, Una "Fell" Arbory, Neville Longbottom, and Lavender Brown. Everyone sat down and Fell handed Harry a present, a silver whistle before leaving. Then, everyone sang to Harry and the group passed out presents.

Luna had drawn Harry a picture of him and split it into thirds, each third coming together to show all his transformations in one face. Neville and Lavender had each gotten Harry an ornate knife to go with his Zanpakuto and Molly had gotten him a watch. Finally, Draco handed Harry a book of martial arts forms and Pansy passed over a bow and arrows she had made herself.

Somehow, Lucius Malfoy had wound up next to Arthur Weasley and while everyone ate their cake, the two were locked in a staring contest. After everyone was done eating, other gifts were handed to Harry for him to unwrap later. As the night went on, Harry was interrupted by the presence of the current Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour. "Well I see I am interrupting something." The man said.

Yoshi and Homer froze but Harry stood up, "Hello sir, was there something we could help you with?"

"I have come reguarding the will of Albus Dumbledore." The lion-faced man said.

"But Dumbledore has been dead for months, why?" Harry asked.

Scrimgeour rubbed his eyes for a moment before speaking up, "Though we mean no disrespect to Dumbledore's memory, things have been rather complicated and many things have been pushed back. In addition, we had to examine the items left to you as they are most… unusual."

Harry frowned as the man asked Ron to come with him. "I don't think so. If you have something to say, say it now."

"Very well. Were you close to Dumbledore, Ronald?"

"No. I was always preoccupied with other matters."

"If you weren't that close," Scrimgeour said, ignoring Hermione's look of horror, "Why would he have remembered you in his will?"

At this, Ron's mouth dropped open, "Are you sure you read that right?"

The man pulled out a sheet of paper and quickly read, "_The last will and testament of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore_… There it is, _To Ronald Bilius Weasley, I leave my Deluminator, in the hope that he will remember me when he uses it._" At this, Scrimgeour took a silver cigarette lighter from a bag and passed it to Ron. "This is a valuable object, it may even be unique. Certainly if it is of Dumbledore's own design. Why would he have left you an item so rare?"

Ron stared at it. "What is it?"

Scrimgeour blinked and then spoke up, "It's an object with the power to extinguish or restore light with one click."

"Well I have been in a few situations where this would have been handy, maybe he thought I'd appreciate it?"

Scrimgeour sighed and then turned back to the will, "_To Miss Hermione Jean Granger, I leave my copy of _The Tales of Beedle the Bard, _in the hopes that she will find it entertaining and instructive."_

"Well I can see why he'd leave me a book. I'm the top student and I'm famous for being unable to keep away from books." Hermione said as she was handed a book.

"But why this one?"

"Maybe he thought I needed music lessons?"

Scrimgeour looked at her to see if she was serious and then spoke up, "_To Harry James Potter, I leave the Snitch he caught in his first Quidditch match at Hogwarts, as a reminder of the rewards of perseverance and skill._"

As soon as the yellow ball was placed in his hand, Harry turned his head. Before Scrimgeour could question him, the group heard Harry start to cry. After a few minutes, the beast looked up, his eyes red from tears, "I'm sorry, I just…"

"Do you know why-"

"No. I-I was a great Seeker but… I don't know why he would give me this. W-was that it?"

"He also left you the sword of Godric Gryffindor."

"What!?" Harry roared. "I can see why you didn't give it to me, I don't want it though."

Scrimgeour stared at Harry with an open mouth before proceeding. "_To Kanbara Takuya, I leave my Penseive in the hopes that he will find inner peace as well as an ability to focus on those things most important._"

At this, Takuya roared with laughter. "I know exactly why he'd leave me a Penseive. I have a habit of looking like I have a lot on my mind."

Though he tried not to, Scrimgeour couldn't help but laugh at the strange boy's answer. After composing himself once more, he read out one of the most shocking parts of the will, "_To Miss Petunia Opal Dursley, I leave my best cauldron in the hope that she will be able to touch the world she longs for with it and remember that the greatest bonds are those of family."_

As she was handed the cauldron, tears fell from Petunia's cheeks, "Th-this is mine now? M-my very own cauldron? I've only met him a few times but I never thought he'd remember that I always wanted to go to Hogwarts."

"_To Dudley Vernon Dursley, I leave the first spellbook I wrote in the hopes that he will remember that Hogwarts will always be open to him, even when the doors refuse to open."_

Dudley thumbed through the book he was given before speaking, "I wonder why he said the doors would be closed? I met him once but I never thought he'd leave me anything."

The man turned to Harry, "We would like your help with something."

"I'm busy."

At this, Scrimgeour's face went red, "I am not Dumbledore, allowing you to be insubordinate."

"I don't know where you get your information but I have very little to do with Dumbledore. My goal is to finish school and take down Voldermort then maybe get a job at the Ministry. Unfortunately, I need to be at school to do this although you would give me a good education. I apologize if I come off a bit rude but I've only just arrived here this morning."

Scrimgeour turned to leave before noticing Lucius Malfoy. Seeing Malfoy, Scrimgeour froze before speaking up, "Sir, I need you to come with me."

Draco got up and ran over to the man, "Why? Yes, he is, was a Death Eater and we've been on the run because of it but please don't tear my family apart. He hasn't spoken to Voldermort in months because of me! If you ever had a family," At this, Draco started crying, "If you ever had a family, please don't take him away from me."

Scrimgeour froze, "Months? Well I must be returning to the Ministry." With a sweep of his cloak, Scrimgeour vanished.


	5. Flight!

Though she made motions to leave, Petunia couldn't leave the thrill of a Wizarding household. With the news of a wedding between Fleur and Bill, she was quickly roped into cleaning and the added help left the house cleaner than ever before. The initial shock of Harry owning a phoenix gradually faded while sparring matches out back never did. Under the tutelage of Harry, Ron, Draco, Dudley, and Takuya, Petunia quickly learned how to use what she quickly learned was a kunai knife, her own weapon. Those who had been on the run found refuge at the Weasley Household, leaving the Deloucaurs little room for sleeping. The husband and wife were not upset however, quickly understanding the situation. At last, the day of the wedding arrived and everyone turned their thoughts to the wedding.

…

After the vows, the large group mingled, Harry's group meeting Luna's father for the first time. Viktor Krum, who had also been invited, almost came to blows with the man over a strange necklace he wore which Xenophilius Lovegood said, "Represents the Deathly Hollows." Thomas had been called to look at Hermione's arm when the Weasleys had complained, however he quickly explained that there was no way to fix it. As the festivities got in full swing, disaster struck.

Harry leaned back on his chair as he discussed one of his many plans for defeating Voldermort. Though weddings were to be happy times, the beast felt that everyone should be on their toes when it came to the final showdown. "If we use a four points aerial defense, we can keep most of the teams fresh while keeping most of the Death Eaters off of me."

"Yes but wouldn't the appearance of four winged bird-men be enough to mark them as targets?" Hermione said, rubbing her bandages.

"Yes but it would keep them off me while I do the deed. After I do it, I can sneak up on them."

Before Hermione could respond, the group saw a silver lynx running toward the pavilion the wedding was taking place at. The group fell silent for they knew this was a Patronus, a positive force that could drive off Dementors.

The lynx stopped and yelled in Kingsley Shakelbolt's voice, "The Ministry has fallen!"

At this news, most of the guests began to panic, running around in fear. Harry bowed his head for a moment before looking at Hermione, "Hermione, run."

Hermione looked at Harry, Ron, and Takuya, a final look to say goodbye and then ran. She only stopped to get her things from The Burrow before fleeing as though the hounds of hell were on her. As he saw her run into the distance, Harry hoped that he would see her again, but doubted it.

…

"The Ministry has fallen!"

Hearing those words, Dudley broke off mid-punch line of his uncle's Japanese Golfer joke, throwing off his dress robes to reveal an outfit suitable for running. He nodded at the Weasley twins and like Hermione, ran off, holding back tears.

…

Petunia froze for a moment at the call of the lynx before turning to Molly, "Thank you for your hospitality, I-I hope I will see you again" Petunia then threw off her dress to reveal her black armor and pulled her bag out from under a table before darting off, leaving Molly confused.

...

Arthur Weasley noticed that while most of the guests were panicking, Harry and the group he hung out with were not. In fact; Harry, Ron, Draco, Luna, Pansy, Lavender, Neville, and Takuya were drawing weapons. Quickly, the man ran over to the group, "What are you doing?"

"What do you think I'm doing, Arthur?" Harry said with a low growl. At that moment, Harry dropped his false form and revealed his true self causing Arthur to jump back in fright.

"Huh-Harry?"

"Get back!"

-Do as he says Dad.-

"Ron? What did you?"

"Raptor!" Harry barked, "We do not have time!"

"Yes my Lord." Ron said.

No one was paying attention to Arthur except for Lavender who quickly said, "We have to cover their retreat?"

"Whose? And from what? V-Voldermort?"

At that moment, Harry felt something happen and whirled around to the man, "Foolish human, you've led them right toward us, if you're going to fight, do it now!"

Arthur thought for a moment, not understanding but quickly coming to a decision. The man turned around and pulled out his wand in time to see a trio of men running toward them.

"Attack!" Harry yelled, pouncing with his sword drawn. At that command, the rest of the group, Arthur last, quickly closed the gap, some using swords and others wands to hit the men with a ferocity that surprised Arthur. However, he quickly got into the rhythm, backing up the swordsmen with well-timed spells.

…

Hermione ran, silent tears falling from her eyes. She had been looking forward to another year, all she'd learn but now… now it would not happen. After a few minutes, she realized that someone was beside her, keeping pace. Without breaking stride, Hermione turned to see someone identical to her except instead of having a bandaged left arm, his right arm including his shoulder was missing. This could be only one person, "Yami?"

"So why are we running?" Yami Hermes, Hermione's other half, other soul asked.

"What can we do?"

"Hermione…" Yami trailed off before speaking more urgently, "Someone's coming!"

Hermione turned to see Hagrid crashing through the trees, his eyes filled with pain. Seeing him, Hermione gasped and ran over, "Hagrid! Are you alright?"

"'ermione!" The half-giant said in relief.

Hermione then noticed a gash on the big man's wrist, "Hagrid, you're bleeding!"

Hagrid sat down, "'S just a scratch."

Hermione wasn't convinced and she grabbed the man's arm, checking it for any other injuries. She quickly noticed the man had an even larger gash on his arm, one that would need to be covered. The girl quickly cast a spell to produce water and then cleaned the cut as well as she could. When it was clean, she spoke up, "I'll have to bandage that."

"Ya don' have ta." When Hagrid noticed she was looking at her bandaged shoulder, the man quickly got panicky, "No 'Ermione, don'."

Hermione examined the professionally wrapped bandage to figure out how to undo it. When she figured out how she started unraveling it. "I'm fine. It's just a precautionary measure."

When the bandage began to come off, Hagrid was not so sure. The sight of bruised purple flesh shook the man to his core. "Wha' happened 'Ermione? Is your arm alrigh'?"

"It's fine." The girl said as she stared at the bandage.

"Loop it close to the injured area to tie it off." Hermes said from beside her.

Hermione did so, following the boy's instructions as well as she could. Finally, she tied it off and inspected her handiwork, hoping she had tied it well. "That should do it I hope. I've never had to bind a wound properly, just cover it."

Hagrid opened his mouth to pursue the issue of the girl's arm before snapping it shut again. At last, he spoke up. "So ya ready fer a new year?" he asked.

"Oh Hagrid, I wish I could. If I tried, they'd probably throw me in prison for being a mudblood."

"Hermione-"

"I'll spend my time trying to prepare for the last battle. We have to weaken V- him and we have to keep others out of Hogwarts. There's a large community working to take several people down."

"Er…"

Hermione rubbed her arm before getting up. "Well, I'll try and visit but I must be going." And with that, Hermione officially turned her back on the Wizarding World. She would spend the next few months in the shadows, only appearing to stop a death eater or other rogue or to check out a lead on a Horcrux before vanishing like a ghost.


	6. The final return

"Name?"

"Harry Potter."

Today was the first of September, the day that the new term would begin. Instead of the friendly conductor and other staff however, Harry was being questioned by a ministry official at a hard fold-up table. Around him, others were going through the same questioning, some being carted away in chains while others were being strip searched for contraband, almost like a high risk airport.

"Year?"

"Seventh."

"Blood Status?"

"Uh… I don't know, Pure-Blood maybe?"

The man sighed, "Nearest living relative with magical blood?"

"Dudley Dursley, Mud-blood."

The man looked at Harry in shock, "Age of said relative?"

"17."

"Is he your closest magical relative?"

"No. My mum, Lily Potter was a Mud-blood while my dad was a Pure-Blood."

"Wand?"

"9 inches, phoenix feather and holly."

"Are you bringing any pets?"

"Two."

"Species?" The man said in alarm.

"Snowy Owl and Phoenix."

"Pardon?"

"I own a Snowy Owl and a Phoenix."

"Do you now?"

"Yes. I bought Hedwig from Mr. Eyelop in Diagon Alley and Fawkes adopted me after his former master, Professor Dumbledore died."

"Well Mr. Potter, please proceed to the security wizards and submit to a search."

Harry got up with a sigh. He was glad that he had thought of putting on some human clothes since it would be awkward if the security wizards saw his clothes attached to him. From a nearby table, Takuya got up and walked over to Harry.

The pair were closer that brothers, able to hear the other's thoughts and see their memories as though they were of one mind. The pair were unique because they HAD been one mind, almost seven years ago, the morning Harry had discovered the Digidestined.

Takuya threw his hand over Harry's shoulder, his usual grin tempered by exhaustion. "Hi there Harry." Takuya said in his native language, Japanese. He knew English well, however Harry could understand any language so there was no need for English.

"Hello Takuya." Harry replied in the same language.

"So there's been no word from Hermione?"

"None. I'm worried."

"She'll be fine." With that, Takuya and Harry were standing next to a security wizard. Quickly, Harry tossed his bag over. Instead of a regulation trunk, Harry was toting around a backpack filled only with books, a quill, paper, and a bottle of ink. Takuya on the other hand, passed his trunk over to the wizard, hoping that he wouldn't discover Takuya's Zanpakuto, Kūki no Hono.

While the wizard was examining Harry's bag, another ordered Harry to strip, an order that Harry quickly obeyed. However, the man was quickly shocked by Harry's lack of bones and high body temperature. Stranger still, his muscles didn't seem to match up with the six foot tall boy. However, the search revealed nothing and Harry was quickly boarding the train, glad at his quick escape. A few minutes later, Takuya had joined him along with the others who remained, spread out between two compartments.

…

After a few hours, the Digidestined and Luna were disembarking and were searched once again before being allowed to enter the castle. There, the group broke off to their houses, ready to see what the new year would bring.

When everyone was seated and the new first years were sorted, Professor Severus Snape stood up. "In light of our former Headmaster's… unfortunate demise, I have been chosen to take over as Headmaster. There will be many changes this year, the most important being the following: All students are required to attend Muggle Studies and Dark Arts which will be taught by Alecto and Amycus Carrow."

After this, the students were quickly sent to bed. As he got up however, Harry was grabbed from behind by a strange woman. In response, Harry turned. "Yes ma'am?"

"You are under arrest."

"And if I don't want to come?"

"Pardon?"

At this, Harry dropped his false form, causing the woman to jerk backward. Not waiting for a response, Harry quickly walked upstairs, heading to his bed. Once there, he threw open a window through which Fawkes flew through, dropping Harry's Zanpakuto Galon Tân at his feet.

"Thanks Fawkes."

"Harry!" Seamus Finnagun yelled, "Is that a phoenix?"

"Mhm, he adopted me when Dumbledore died."

"He was Dumbledore's? Blimey, I didn't know he had a phoenix."

…

The net morning, Harry was up at the crack of dawn and headed to the Owlery with a letter. He had quickly learned that he was wanted for questioning and had composed a letter detailing the events of the Headmaster's death. Once again, Galon Tân was sheathed at his back and his fires had formed a pair of robes as per usual. Once at the Owlery, he had quickly sent Hedwig off to the Ministry and walked downstairs to find Dudley waiting for him at the door. Without a word, the blond passed Harry a slip of paper before running off. Harry slit the paper to find troop movements and then strode off to the castle. Before he got to the doors, Harry realized that he wanted to be left alone, instead turning toward the Black Lake.

…

After a few minutes, Harry felt a hand at his shoulder, "Hi Sara."

Sara sat down next to the fire wolf, looking at him. "Hi there Harry."

Harry looked out at the lake, once again lost in thought.

"So, do you miss it? You know, being human?" Sara asked.

"Every day." Harry said, turning to her, "And you?"

Sara thought for a moment and then answered, "I miss being an innocent girl with no responsibilities but… But I don't miss it because… because without Koichi, I never would have met you."

"We are a great bunch aren't we?"

"Yeah but I wasn't referring to the others. Harry, I-I don't know how to say this but I think I love you."

Harry looked at her in shock before hearing the rest of the castle get up from breakfast. Sighing, he nodded to Sara and the two got up to get their course schedules.


	7. Battle! Something is wrong!

"Welcome to Muggle Studies. As you may know, this class has become compulsory and any absence will be punished." The woman that had caught Harry yesterday, Alecto Carrow said. "Now today, we will start the lesson by talking about blood purity. As some of the more educated minds in this school may know, the purer your blood, the more intelligent one is."

"So how much 'pure blood' do you have?" Neville piped up, causing Harry to groan and Lavender to beam in admiration.

"I can assure you Mr…"

"Longbottom. But by your own system, I'd have to guess you had only half wizarding blood if I was being overly flattering. However, based on your intelligence of even saying that, considering the most evil wizard of all time only has half wizarding blood and you're nowhere near his level you are probably from a muggle family."

At this, Alecto walked over to Neville and pulled a knife, slashing the boy across the face. However, Neville's only response was a quick, "Case in point."

"You will be serving detention young man."

Neville, confident now that he had been at the front lines against enemies the year prior smiled, "What is it? I shall not tell lies? Or am I to be hung by my ears? Had that happen too."

"Well I suppose this is now the right time for a demonstration of the new disciplinary methods to be employed at the school." Alecto then pulled out her wand. "Crucio!"

Not expecting this, Neville was caught by the blast, sending him writhing in agony. When he stood up, he was hit by another spell until Lavender stood up, jumping in the way of the blast. When the class finally ended, both were sent to the hospital wing as they had fallen unconscious.

…

Harry got up, preparing to head to his Arithmancy class. However, Alecto quickly stopped him, "Mr. Potter, a word please?"

Harry walked over to the professor, "Yes?"

"I do not know what you are trying but using another as a tool is not a smart way to stay in this school."

"Professor, I can assure you that Neville was acting on his own. I will not interfere in your teachings as long as you don't interfere in my business. I am not here to start a fight, merely to finish one. If you will excuse me, Professor Vector will not take kindly to my absence."

"Very well, you may go."

…

And so the school quickly fell into a routine. Harry became the model student, silent but attentive while Neville became branded as the troublemaker. Although Harry was quickly ignored, he was secretly leading the rebellion by recruiting for Dumbledore's Army. Though many joined it to keep the tyranny at bay, the Digidestined and Luna were waiting for the shadow of water to rear its head. At last, the wait was over for on Halloween, the whole school was gathered for the feast when the clear moonlit sky turned dark in an instant.

Harry looked up and studied the sky before turning to his neighbor, Zoe. "It is time."

Zoe Orimito, the Legendary Warrior of Wind followed his gaze and noted the rain now falling. "Are you sure?"

"The clouds are not natural, they have the taint of the Digital World to them."

With a regretful sigh at her unfinished risotto, Zoe pushed her chair back. When she did so, the Digidestined followed suit, all four house tables noting members rising up in unison. Some of the teachers made moves to ask the students to sit down but one look at their faces quickly stopped everyone, even the Carrows in their tracks. Even more surprising was the reaction of Professor Minerva McGonagall. The teacher was well known for keeping students in line but she was also at her feet and holding a strange sword in one hand with ease.

The group walked out the hall, forming up into lines. The first was made up of Kari, Harry, Tai, Matt, Koji, Koichi, Sara, Mako, Suzie, Takuya, and Minerva, each brandishing a weapon. Next stood Izzi, Mimi, TK, and Cody. The third line was comprised of Takato, Rika, Henry, Ryo, Jeri, and Mako. Fourth stood Zoe, Tommy, Keenan, and Kristy. Bringing up the rear, wands drawn were Draco, Pansy, Neville, Lavender, and Luna. From behind, the Carrows followed, wondering what was going on. Before the group left the castle, Harry turned, causing the Carrows to dive for cover.

"First of all," Harry began, "You can come out now, I know you're hiding behind that torch."

At this, the Carrows showed themselves.

"Second of all, you all know what's coming. It's not the big one but it's the last stepping stone to the big one. I've known most of you for almost seven years and others as little as one but we all have the same goal as we had then. Now some of you are thinking about Tom but we need to put that aside for now and focus on the Shadow of Water. Those who have been here since the beginning remember how easy Randalf was and how Bruce was weak once he was pushed out of Hermione. However, the other four have been harder, leaving me to believe this will be our hardest one yet. However, defeating it will free Ebowamon, opening the way to Fenglongmon. So tonight, we are not students, we are not teachers. No, tonight, we are Digidestined, united together to protect both worlds."

At this, the group cheered. However, Harry quickly held up his hand and sent them into battle. When they got there, Harry asked the Shadow standing there, a light blue figure his name.

"DarkCraig."

"Well DarkCraig, prepare to die." Harry hissed, prompting everyone including the Carrows to pull their weapons out. The tension mounted, greater and greater until… "Attack!"

The effect was instantaneous, spells reigned down from the back, swords flew out with swift rage, people transformed into Digimon, and chaos ensued. The Carrows saw the battle taking place and caught up in it, they fired shot after shot of killing curses and other dark spells.

Harry and Takuya were leading the sword charge, wind and fire mixing into a maelstrom that burned the water being with its might. Sara and Minerva gave air support, their leaping techniques making them hard to catch. Tai, Mako, and Suzie, not being as skilled were reduced to slashing and thrusting, distracting the Shadow from the others. Though he did not know his Zanpakuto's name, Koichi was quickly fighting back to back with Koji and his blade, Getsuro. Draco and Ron, back to back stood as Hawk and Raptor, screeching from the sky.

Neville, Lavender, Luna, and Pansy sent spell after spell over the group, mixing as many as possible including leg-lockers, confundus charms, and even Jelly-Legs curses to produce interesting results.

The body of the group was taken by the partnered Digidestined, Mimi, Izzi, TK, Cody, Takato, Rika, Ryo, Henry, Ai, Jeri, and Kristy summoning partners and fighting alongside them.

Keenan, Zoe, and Tommy were in their Digimon forms, fighting like wild beasts. While Zoe was fighting as JetSilphymon from the air, Daiphenmon was attacking from the ground, each giving support to the other. Keenan on the other hand was fighting alongside his partner, Keenan as an Elecmon and Falcomon as Peckmon fighting at one side.

Even though some of them had never really met… Even though they were at war with two of the fighters… Everyone in the group was fighting alongside the others with no complaint or worry. At one point, a whip of water flew to Amycus, only to be cut by Daiphenmon's Ichigo Death attack. Neville dodged one attack only to find himself with no way to dodge another yet Alecto quickly shielded him without a second thought.

The fight dragged on, the Digidestined knowing that they could not let DarkCraig take one step in the school while DarkCraig did not want to disappoint his master. Seconds turned to minutes, minutes to hours, and still the fighting continued. At last, with the sun rising in the sky, the first casualty, Mimi's Togemon fell. With Togemon, the end seemed near with people and Digimon falling in exhaustion or with bleeding cuts and wounds.

With each person down, the group shrunk, compacting instinctively. DarkCraig broke from the holding pattern to put himself in the middle of the group, now putting the spellcasters on the front lines. From above, Hawk was struck with a blade of ice, sending him careening to the ground. Below him, Pansy stared at the boy she had secretly loved, the one that brought her into this mess as he fell. Before she could look back, she was struck by ice cold water, sending her flying back.

A second before she hit the ground, Pansy felt something grab her. However, it was too late, the impact knocked her out. Even as the blackness descended, Pansy fought, truly fighting for the first time, just to stay awake. Instead of the blackness claiming her, Pansy saw grey. She felt something tugging at the core of her being, something like a long lost friend. Even so, Pansy fought until that something slipped through a crack. She saw a pretty woman in a black silk dress offer a hand to her, one that Pansy took.

"Pa… yuh… e?"

Pansy blinked, hearing a voice but not able to understand. "I can't, speak up."

"Pa…! …se, listen to…"

"Listen to what?

"…f? Listen o… me!"

Pansy closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again, "Try again."

"Pansy please listen."

"I'm listening."

"At last. I've been trying for two years. Pansy listen, you are not alone. Even when you lie in bed, when you run across the country, you have not been alone. Please…"

…

The woman faded and Pansy saw grey again. This time however, she noticed it was a blade, what Draco would have called a katana. Pansy grabbed her wand but as an afterthought, her right hand curled around the katana. As it did so, Pansy heard the woman -Pansy, you know my name. Call it.-

Pansy raced into battle, leaping over Draco with the sword blazing. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the woman next to her, flying on wings of blinding white. At that sight, Pansy thought of both darkness and light and the balance they held. Pansy jumped behind DarkCraig and took a breath, held it, and then cast a quick spell to divert him. As he turned, Pansy called as the woman spoke, -I am.-

Together they spoke, "Day to night, -Dākuraito!-"

From the katana's blade, winged protrusions grew, meshing neatly into Pansy's hand, holding it fast. The blade grew, now the size and shape of a standard two-hander. Scrollwork on the blade told of a struggle between the light and the dark within and the path to overcoming it. Pansy held the blade behind her and then spun, the darkness and light in the blade piercing DarkCraig in such a way that the water which formed him exploded into data, then vanishing.

As DarkCraig fell, the sky darkened, going from morning sun to a black expanse. With some bleeding and others shaking with fatigue, the Digidestined could only stare as lightning began to strike. Close to DarkCraig, Harry growled deep in his throat, an emotion that the rest agreed with. For it seemed that something was wrong with the world, something was dead… Something…

From behind them, the castle doors flew open with Professor Snape and the rest of the teachers running outside to stare at the inky sky and the white lightning. In the distance, an aurora of all colors split the sky, and in the center everyone could see a strange land, one that was not a place on Earth.


	8. One last Christmas

Harry stood on the battlements atop a tower, hackles raised as he looked up at the strange land in the sky. It had been almost two months since the defeat of DarkCraig and since that time, the sun had not shone. Most of the Digidestined found this tough as they had once had a similar experience right before their final fights. Now, at midnight on the 24th of December, Harry still felt unease at the sight.

After a few minutes, Harry felt a hand on his shoulder. "Hello Sara."

Sara stood next to Harry, following his gaze. "I think it looks pretty."

Harry turned to her, "Pretty?"

"It looks close enough that we could build a bridge and just walk there. Almost like… that new book, _Northern Lights_? Did you read it?"

Harry shook his head.

"See, toward the end there was a city in the Northern Lights and a man built a bridge to it and this girl who had just lost her friend crossed it into another world… But then it ended." Sara looked out at the strange land. "If only we could go there, what would it be like? Would we find people like us, or…?"

…

A few hours and kilometers away, a haggard man entered the Forbidden Forest. Where his golden hair was once kept tied back neatly, the now brown hair hung free, covering his scarred face. The man wore a tattered travelling cloak that concealed a sword belt containing a Daito. If anyone was watching, they would barely give him a second look. Those that did would notice rippling muscles and the ease with which he carried his sword and body. If the wind caught his hair just so, the observer would notice kind brown eyes tinged with worry and anticipation. However, everyone knew to stay away and Dudley Dursley entered without anyone noticing. When he gave Harry his last message, he wandered among muggle settlements, secretly leaving protection or stopping problems as he went on. At last, it was time to return.

Dudley had never been in the Forest, yet he walked through the trees without fear, going on what his cousin had told him of the forest. He knew the dangers and where to stay clear so as morning fell, Dudley had at last found a place to sleep, hanging a handmade hammock above two trees near a clearing. Exhausted, he tried to fall asleep.

A minute later, he was fully awake, listening to a set of footsteps approaching. As he saw who they belonged to, Dudley grinned, keeping still as to avoid discovery. Hagrid the Groundskeeper was carrying a large haunch of Dudley knew not over to where he watched. Then, the man set it down on a stump. Dudley wanted to sigh in relief but waited. Unfortunately, Hagrid looked up at that moment and saw Dudley.

"How di'ja get 'ere?"

Dudley sighed before drawing his sword and slitting one of the hammock's ropes, falling to the ground and landing at his feet. "How did you find me?" He asked, sword at Hagrid's massive throat.

"Dudley?"

Though Dudley liked the man, he pushed his sword harder against the neck, "I asked you how you noticed me!"

"I jes looked up, th' sky is so strange."

Dudley sighed and sheathed his sword. "It is good to be back again. I needed to return by Christmas."

Hagrid stared at the man, remembering seven years ago when he had given Dudley a pig's tail because the then boy was acting like a pig. Now he was a kind man who had been forced on the run due to someone else's war. "Apparently there was a fight some time ago. It was storming that day but when it stopped, the sky looked like… like tha'." Hagrid pointed at the Aurora.

"Ah, so they won. I am glad we weren't needed."

…

Hermione swung from tree to tree, a feat that should be impossible for a woman that had only one good arm. The other was starting to break down, the flesh streaked with metal. Hermione had been pursuing a lead on a Horcrux in Albania, learning of a man who had found a crown and another who had died. Now, she was headed back to Scotland, however she was not going to make it to Hogwarts by Christmas. Sighing, she leafed through her bag before pulling out a portrait of a strange man. "Alright you." She said, talking to the portrait. Unlike most portraits and paintings, this was a magical one so Hermione was not shocked when the head swiveled and looked at her.

"So you let me out?"

"I can't be seen talking to a picture."

"So what do you want this time?"

"How many days are there until Christmas?"

Phineas Nigelus was now used to the bossy woman's orders, the strange request getting nothing more than a snort from him. "It's the 24th of December."

Hermione set the portrait on a forked branch before setting herself across from it. Though she didn't care for the man, she felt like giving him a present. "Thank you for your help. If I wasn't wanted by both Muggle and Wizarding police, I wouldn't have had to sneak into Sirius' house and grab you."

Though he was nervous to ask, Phineas figured he would try his luck, "Why do we want you?"

"Well, I didn't show up to school and I'm Muggle-Born."

"Ah, so you've been on the run. But why do the Muggles want you?"

"I'm not an adult in their society until I'm 18 and I had to break out of a hospital where I was admitted for having a mangled arm. If the police catch me, I'd be forced back to the hospital and that's dangerous for me and my family."

"So where are we?"

"I've been here on a vacation before so I recognize it. We're in the Forest of Dean."

"Hmmmm."

Hermione's expression turned dark. "And you know what I'll do to you if you tell anyone!" After the threat was issued, she sighed and rubbed her face. "I'm sorry. For some reason, I feel angrier than usual nowdays. I hope it isn't because of Hermes."

"Who is Hermes? I've heard that name before as well as another one, Yami?"

Hermione thought for a moment. "Even if you told anyone this, I doubt it would do any harm." The woman lifted her cloak, tossing it back to expose the left arm. She then turned to show Phineas the damaged arm.

"What happened? And what is with that sword?"

Hermione reached over and picked up the portrait, holding it close to the arm so the man inside it could see that the sword was going through her flesh. After a minute, she set the picture back in the fork before speaking up. "Last year I went with some friends to try to find some who had gone missing. Along the way, more went missing until I was the one leading a group that had fewer people. After a long adventure, we parted ways, me going with others we had found while the rest of my group went back to school. Soon after the split, I was transported to another world. There, I was asked to find The Blade of Split Soul, a sword that was supposed to point the way to the world's savior. I should have said no…"

"But you went looking for it."

"But I went looking for it. Armed with the warning to not look for it too hard, I searched and eventually found it in a blast crater. When I touched it, it tried to permanently attach itself to my arm. For some reason, it only tried on my left arm. The contact broke the bones in my left hand so I just shoved the sword into my belt and walked back to the person who asked me to retrieve it…"

"And then?"

"Well the person said that I had found it and then said I must be tired. Well at that moment I felt tired and followed the person's advice, I couldn't do anything else. When I woke up…"

Hermione turned away while Phineas waited. Finally, he couldn't contain himself. "When you woke up?" He prodded.

Hermione turned back to him and the man saw her eyes filled with tears for the first time that he knew of. "When I woke up, the blade was fully attached to my arm. Somehow I managed to save that world when I set the tip of the blade in a lake shortly after waking up and then I opened a portal by slashing at the sky. The next thing I knew, I was sprawled on the ground and the people who were with me before I was pulled in were asking me about some fight. The doctor of the group, Thomas decided to amputate my arm as the wrist and hand were like they are now. So we tried that but after it had been castrated, these gold threads shot forward and reconnected the arm. Then the blade started going through my arm. After that, something possessed me and forced me to kill a friend, or so I thought. Not wanting to cause any more harm, I put the blade through my own heart. However, I found myself in a hallway with three doors. There were chains on one, another had books, and the last had a table with the same person who had started me on this quest. He told me a bit about the sword and then I woke up unable to move my wrist or elbow…" Once again, she broke off, this time shoving Phineas in her bag. He opened his mouth to complain when he noticed that the arm was now covered and that he could hear some noise. "Quiet."

After a bit of movement, he heard Hermione speaking in a low voice, "I don't know if you can hear me but I'm sorry about that. I'm trying to get higher so I can talk freely but you won't be able to come out. I don't know if this was an accident or if someone is following me. You may want to go back for a minute or two just in case." At this, Phineas used a special ability that only some portraits had and slipped from one painting to another.

…

Severus Snape was having a horrible day. The Carrows were getting pushy, the sky, Potter, Longbottom, the recruitment graffiti for Potter's old gang without Potter being a part of it, maintaining his image of a loyal servant to the Dark Lord, Albus' harassment, and Phineas' last communiqué about being stolen from a wall at the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. However, his day got worse when Phineas appeared, the haughty look replaced by one of nervous worry. "Headmaster, she's in the Forest of Dean."

"Did you hear that Severus? You remember what to do?" the portrait of Albus Dumbledore asked.

"Yes Albus, I know." Snape said as he swung the offending portrait to reveal a box that held the sword of Gryffindor.

"And please be discreet, she'll stick that thing through my portrait and then…"

"What are you talking about Phineas?" Snape and Dumbledore asked.

"Please just… She has powers…"

"What kind of powers?" Snape asked.

A shiver went down Phineas' spine, "That one could kill us all with her broken arm."

"You're a portrait!"

"I know. I'd better be going; she was explaining something to me about these people named Yami and Hermes. Something startled her and she had me go back. I couldn't just return or she'd find out."

…

As Phineas returned, Hermione spoke up again. "I hope you're back Phineas, we're safe as we can be right now. Where was I again?"

Phineas longed to answer however Hermione wouldn't have been able to hear him. After a few swings, the woman remembered her place and spoke up. "Well as time went by, the condition of my arm go worse. It turned out that the blade was now up to my elbow which is why I couldn't move it. Three days after, I was woken up from a slight nap by Lavender Brown. She told me I had been having a nightmare but I couldn't remember it. All I remembered was lying in bed, trying to go to sleep and then, while still trying, I found her waking me up. She was alarmed and called Professor McGonagall. Well Professor McGonagall thought the sword was like hers so she tried to get me to meet the spirit in it by stabbing me with hers. As the blade fell, Harry Potter came in and tried to stop her but it was too late. When I woke up, I was back at the hallway but the chains were weaker. Fin, the one I told you about before told me to be careful and think before I tried to unseal the door. I paused but…"

"But?" Phineas said, even though she couldn't have heard him.

"So you are back." Hermione said.

"But?"

"I had to figure out what was going on. After a moment's hesitation, I held out my hand and touched the chains. As I felt the metal, the chains burst apart and I opened the door. A colorless throne room was on the other side. As I stepped in, color spread out, revealing historical tapestries. When I came to the end, there were two thrones, one empty and one occupied by a sleeping person. I tried to shout at him but he couldn't hear me and didn't wake until I stepped on the dais the thrones sat on. When I stepped on the dais, the thrones became red and gold and the person woke up. But when he woke up, I saw…"

"What? What did you see?" Phineas said in spite of himself.

"I saw myself."

"Was there a mirror?"

"No. Though it was like I stood in front of one. When I am in the hallway my sword is gone and my arm is missing. When he sat up, I saw someone identical to me except for his eyes, they weren't brown like mine are."

"Your eyes aren't actually brown."

Hermione blinked. "Well they were. Now his were silver on grey on silver-grey. I thought it was a mirror until he spoke. His voice was like mine only it was male. I asked him who he was but he said he was me. He then said I could call him Hermes if I wanted to or another name that means double soul, Yami. Well after that he had me sit on the throne next to him. When I did, it changed to conform to me and then I woke up in the hospital wing."

"So this other is Yami AND Hermes?"

"Yes. According to him, I was destined to find the sword because I had been born with half a soul. It was an accident that the sword fell on Faelith, the other world instead of Earth. He also said the reason why I couldn't remember my dreams or night was because I ruled the day but he ruled the night. Even though he said this, since the sky… Well since the sky changed, I've been in control for exactly 12 hours. I now have the other 12 back but they're spent in the hallway."

Phineas whistled before speaking. "That is an amazing story."

"I know. But you saw the proof." As she said this, Hermione ran out of tree and swung down in the strange one handed way of hers before landing in a clearing. She made a move to pull Phineas out when she saw a silver deer appear. "Someone is here."

Hermione got down, balancing shakily on three limbs. As she looked around, she saw Hermes was back. "Go slow and keep your senses pricked. Put your left leg behind, right hand forward, and use your right leg to balance." Hermione followed the instructions, noting that the deer wasn't evil OR good.

From behind a tree, Severus Snape held back a laugh at the way the girl was walking and the one sided conversation she was having. However, he lost his laughter as he heard a familiar voice speak up. "That's a Patronus."

"Yes. It looks like Harry's used to. But for some reason, it doesn't feel like a normal Patronus. Phineas, do you think it's because there are no Dementors?"

"Probably. Oh, it vanished."

Hermione looked around before noticing that they were standing at a lake that had a sword she had only heard about lying there. The hilt was covered in rubies and she would bet that it had the words Godric Gryffindor carved on the blade. Without removing the bag, Hermione threw back her cloak, causing the hidden Snape to gasp. However, the noise was too soft to be heard over the shattering of ice. Pulling the drawstrings tighter on the bag, Hermione jumped in, hooking her sword through her pants on the way down to keep it from getting in the way. Even so, the metal caused her arm and part of her chest to go numb, leaving her short of breath. Ignoring Phineas' shrieks at her stupidity, Hermione grabbed the sword of Gryffindor and made to swim up. Unfortunately, the lack of air caused her to lose conscious, the aurora tinged sky fading to black.

…

Dean Thomas was in trouble. It all began… well when he found out he was wanted for questioning… but this strain of bad luck had started when he had heard someone familiar talking. He called out but the person had stopped speaking and fled. Not thinking, Dean had shouted out, "I'm warning you, I'm no friend of Voldermort and if you serve him, I'm armed!"

With a crack, people had appeared and now he was turning to see he was surrounded. Yes, this was not a good day in a string of bad days.

"Who are you?" One of the men asked.

"D-D-Draco Malfoy?" Dean said, speaking the first name that popped in his head.

"Oh? I didn't know you changed your hair color. So what house are you in?"

"Slytherin."

"And where is it?"

"In the basement."

"In the basement? Well Draco would know more than that." The man said after a while.

"B-b-but." Dean said, drawing his wand.

"You must be a run away. I'd say you're a Mudblood too."

Dean gulped. "Of course I am. But my blood is just as pure as yours! I have every right to go to school and you have no right to keep me from there or to take me against my will. I know my rights!"

"You are a thief. You have no rights. Let's get 'em boys!"

Drawing his wand, Dean readied himself for battle when one of the men, the one who was interrogating him fell. A knife flew from the man and Dean followed it with his eyes, noting it was moving toward a stranger in black, face covered. As Dean watched, the stranger grabbed the knife and spun, throwing another before spinning again to throw the one received. The knives, somehow there were more than two, struck the group that Dean knew were the legendary Snatchers that he had heard rumors about. When half of them were gone, the others ran, closely followed by those that had fallen.

Dean turned to thank the stranger but was stopped when the knife, for there was only one now, was put away and an arm grabbed his wrist. The stranger dragged him into the cover of the trees before letting go. Not sure what was going on, Dean gripped his wand that he somehow managed to keep a hold of, hand shaking from the experience.

The hand that had been grabbing Dean's wrist rose to the hood of the cloak that Dean could see the stranger wore. The stranger finally spoke, "You can stop that, I won't hurt you." A gruff voice spoke up. However, the shock came when the stranger threw back his, no her hood to reveal a woman in her forties or fifties. "So, you're on the run then?"

Dean gulped before speaking, "Who are you?"

"Oh, I'm sorry." The woman spoke, unfastening her cloak to reveal something that looked like black light armor, "I'm Petunia."

"I'm Dean."

"Dean huh?" The woman said with a chuckle. "You know that this forest is known as the Forest of Dean right?"

"Really?"

"Wait, Dean I've heard that name. Aren't you…?"

"Aren't I what?" Dean said, wondering if he had just gotten himself caught after being freed.

"You are! Dean Thomas right?"

"If I am, how would you know?"

Petunia smiled. "Well, this is a coincidence. I save some poor soul from capture only to find out that he is on the front lines AND in my family's own House."

"Pardon?"

"All of my family that went to Hogwarts went into Gryffindor."

"Really?"

Petunia took a bag off her back and quickly started a fire before cooking a can of beans on it. "I'm afraid I don't have anything else to eat but this should do until we get there."

"Get where?"

"Oh, have you heard about Dumbledore's Army?"

Dean's eyebrows rose up at the mention of the secret club at the school but he did not speak as he was focused on eating his beans.

"Well, some of them helped my family last year and of those, even fewer went to a place where they saw friends turn to stone."

Dean spat out his mouthful of beans as he heard an adult mention something that his friend Seamus had seen. "How do you know about Dumbledore's Army? Anyone who reveals it would have splotches on their face. I heard what Hermione Granger did to the paper we all signed."

Petunia surveyed Dean before answering, "Though it is effective, that jinx only works under two conditions. The first is if someone tells an adult which you can see I am. However, the second condition is that the jinx only works on humans. So if someone with no human blood… or even any blood at all mentioned it to someone, even an adult, the jinx would not activate."

"Wh-who?"

Petunia fished through her bag to pull out a watch. With it, she quickly checked the time. "I have to go. If you want to come, you might want to help me put out the fire."

…

Hermione woke up, still underwater, hand frozen to the sword she had just found. She was shocked that she was able to see and wondered how she was still alive without breathing. When she looked up, she was more stunned to see her former Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, the hated Severus Snape. The man was trying to use his wand to warm the ice up but having difficulty. A glance out of the corner of her eye revealed that Yami was beside her and she could faintly hear Phineas asking her if she was alright.

Severus Snape was so ashamed, he shouldn't have followed that traitor's advice and now that he had, he was trying to save that Granger girl's life. As he tried to free her, he noticed that somehow the girl's eyes had cleared and they were no longer the same brown he had scowled at for 6 years. She seemed to look at something by her side but there was nothing there. Now she looked back and then… and then… Snape jerked back as he saw Granger's eyes glow silver-gold, the blade in her left hand glowing the same color. He noticed the arm and part of her shoulder also glowed but the most stunning part was that the ice melted from the lake. In an act of courage that would be remembered for as long as Hermione lived, Severus jumped in, pulling her out.

As the girl was laid on the ground, Severus noticed her eyes return to that strange gold and brown but this time they were more half gold and half brown. Severus got to work trying to get the water out of the girl's chest, first by magic, then by muggle means that Lily, dear sweet Lily had taught him. When he pressed his hands over her heart, Severus jerked back in shock. He knew the feel of bone in flesh and the girl didn't have that. Instead of bone, Granger had… metal in her chest. After his initial shock, Severus checked to see that the metal continued into her arm. As he checked to see how far it stretched in the other direction, he got another shock as he felt the metal growing into her collarbone and down the ribcage.

After Snape noticed that the growth had suddenly stopped halfway down her ribs, Hermione woke up. "P-p-professor?"

Severus blinked for a moment before trying to wrench Gryffindor's sword out of Granger's hand to check her hand. However, the sword seemed stuck to the girl's hand.

"Professor? What are you doing here? And why did you save me?"

"I should never have listened to Phineas Nigellus." Severus barked.

"Pardon?"

"Nothing…"

"Professor, might I ask… Why do you hate Harry?"

Severus turned to the woman. Hermione could clearly see tears in his eyes, "I don't… hate Potter."

"Then how come-?"

-He was in love.-

At that, Hermione screamed and clutched her head. When her eyes slid shut, she saw a young blond haired boy being scolded by Fin. "She hasn't met you yet, you need to be careful!"

Hermione's eyes opened and she turned to Severus, "Who was she?"

"Wha-what?"

"Who was the girl you loved?"

"Li-Lily."

At this, Hermione stood… or tried to. When she tried to stand, she found that Gryffindor's sword was stuck to her hand. "Not again." She groaned, trying to shake the thing loose. However, when it touched her left side, there was a flash and the sword was secured to a sword belt around her waist. Hermione raised her eyebrows before standing. "I have to go Professor." And with that, she set off, Snape following close by.

…

Dean had decided to follow Petunia and now the two were trekking through the forest. When daybreak should have come, Petunia turned to Dean. "Are you sure you want to come?"

"You saved my life, I have to."

Petunia surveyed Dean before nodding. "Grab my hand." Dean did so and suddenly they were no longer in the forest.

…

Dudley had just slipped away from Hagrid when he realized it was time. He quickly accessed the Digi-Portal Program and vanished.

…

All around the world, Digidestined made their trip to the Digital World, some bringing others along while others went alone. The first to arrive was Harry.


	9. Medallions

The Wastes-Formerly the Clearing of the Beast

Harry looked around the cracked and dull ground he had found himself at. Instead of the Clearing of the Beast, Harry was in a devastated land. Uneasy, he unleashed Candlemon, his Digimon partner and together they looked up to see a sight Harry recognized from Geography classes in his pre-Hogwarts days. Instead of the Digital Sky, he was looking at… Earth. As he stared at the blue ball above him, his team began to appear, one by one, sometimes two by two. After a few minutes, the appearances stopped and Harry turned to his second in command, Sara. "Is that everyone?"

"Well considering Dudley is on the run, your aunt hasn't been seen since the Fall, and Hermione has been missing for months… yes."

Harry opened his mouth to say something when the first group with the exception of Izzi began screaming. The necklaces they wore had somehow ignited into flames. When Matt grabbed his to try to take it off, he was forced to let go as his hand hurt from a burn. Having used all his medical supplies, Joe grabbed the only thing he had to help Matt, his shirt. As it came off, Joe sighed in relief, the burning he had felt now felt like a cool dip at the pool.

Joe's medallion began to get shorter until it was a choker on his neck. As soon as the ashy material touched the base of his neck, it was absorbed into his throat. When this happened, Joe felt something rhythmically squeezing and releasing his throat. His eyes flashed, for an instant bestial, and then their normal shape and color. Joe was about to struggle against the strange squeezing when he remembered a few years ago. After a trip to renew his Valkyrie powers, Joe had a major case of double vision that had given him a major headache. Harry, using the mental link all Valkyrie shared, quickly forced Joe to relax until the vision had cleared, overlapping in a way that made sense.

While the rest of the group that had medallions quickly figured out that they needed to be on bare skin, Joe forced himself to relax. Kari, who had been watching, quickly followed suit. After a few more squeezes, his breathing settled into the new pattern. The feeling sunk to his heart but Joe (and Kari) was able to adapt to this new rhythm. When he did so, the squeezing stopped and his heart maintained the new pattern.

Thomas stared at this for a moment before his partner Gaomon yelled, "Sir, the others!"

Thomas turned ansnoticed that aside from Kari and Joe, the group was blue in the face, unable to breathe. Thomas grabbed his supplies and went over to check the group, noting that each one had an irregular heartbeat.

The noise startled Joe and Kari, causing them to grab their heads in pain. Seeing this, Harry ran over to the pair. "It's just background noise, like a TV at low volume."

"It hurts!" Kari said.

"Stop focusing on it. Just don't even worry about it. It hurts because your senses are heightened for some reason. Just don't think about it alright?"

After a few moments, the pair was able to remove their hands from their ears. With this relief, Joe walked over to TK who was among those blue in the face. "Hey have you heard the story of how I climbed Infinity Mountain?"

TK managed to gasp out, "A-at lea-least a hu-hundre-ed t-t-t-times."

"I haven't." Kari piped up from behind Joe.

TK and the rest of the group were shocked, Kari hadn't been told?

"This was before you ever came along, before Etemon, even before Devimon. Most of us had unlocked our Champion forms. Now we were in a cave beside Infinity Mountain, arguing about whether or not to climb the mountain. While we were talking, it became clear that no one was listening to my opinion. So while the others slept, I scrawled a message in the sand and started up the mountain, just to see what things were like from there. Gomamon stopped me of course and insisted he go.

"When we were about halfway, we were attacked by a Unimon, a Pegasus with a horn. At first he didn't go after us, but then a black gear hit him and he attacked. Gomamon couldn't Digivolve so I knew an attack wouldn't work. I jumped on Unimon's back, figuring that it was that black gear that was making the Digimon go mad. He didn't like that, bucking like a bronco in an American Western. After a few minutes of that, I slipped. However, I was caught by Ikkakumon who had Digivolved in time. As Unimon turned to us, Tai, Sora, and Matt showed up and together we attacked Unimon, dislodged the gear, and discovered that this place we were on was an island. So that's the story of how I climbed Infinity Mountain."

…

As the story ended, all of the Digidestined, who had been paying attention to Joe, turned to the others to find they were no longer having trouble breathing. Joe's story had worked! In telling it, the group had relaxed and was able to adapt to the new breathing pattern.

After this crisis had passed, Dudley, Petunia, Dean, Hermione, and Snape appeared. Though Harry looked like he would have words with Hermione and Petunia, he and the others suddenly felt tired. Hermione cringed, remembering Fin but even she couldn't keep awake. Fighting it long enough to pull Phineas Nigellus out and tell him to behave, she too fell asleep.

…

While the Digidestined slept, a group of figures descended upon them. The Seven Sovereign walked toward the sleeping figures while Phineas watched. Without hesitation, the Sovereign took off the clothes of all the male Digidestined as well as Kari, Sora, and Mimi. Next, each clawed patterns into all the first team except Izzi. When they were done, they quickly put the girls' clothes back one before producing more of the medallions that now were inside most of the first group. Each Sovereign worked quickly, setting disks of coal on each boy's heart (with the exception of Tai, Matt, Joe, and TK) and tying medallions around the necks of the girls. Once this was done and the boys in the first team had their pants back on (the other boys didn't lose their pants) the Sovereign left them, and the Digidestined woke up.

…

Hermione rubbed her eyes before turning to Phineas, "How long were we all asleep?"

Phineas stared at Hermione before speaking, "About ten minutes. I saw some clothed strangers come by but they kept their hoods up. Then they bent over all of you and did something, I couldn't see what. When they were done, they walked off and you woke up. It was very strange."

Harry stretched, feeling something catch in his chest. At last, he stood up and began to let Hermione have it. "I don't know what you were thinking, bringing him here. And why haven't you sent word at all?" He then turned to Petunia but froze in the act as he caught sight of Tai, who had fallen asleep on top of her. "What happened to you Tai? You look beat up."

Everyone looked at Tai as the boy gave his answer, "Nothing."

"Tai?" Matt said.

Tai turned to face him before reeling in shock. "How did you get those cuts?" Tai asked.

This prompted a quick check to see who else had cuts. It was soon apparent that only Sora, Mimi, Matt, Tai, Joe, Kari, and TK had the strange cuts while everyone else was cut free. During this examination, it was also apparent that every girl in the group except Sora, Kari, and Mimi was wearing a choker version of the strange medallion.

"Alright, I have no idea what is going on but my chest hurts." Harry said as he felt it catch again.

Thomas quickly grabbed his equipment and pronounced Harry normal after a quick examination. "What is it?"

"It's my chest, right where my heart is."

"I didn't notice anything, maybe you should take off your robes?"

Harry stared at Thomas for a moment before dissolving the illusion of robes. When he did so, Thomas gasped and began taking off HIS shirt.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"I saw…" Thomas said, finally flinging the shirt to the ground. Harry didn't have to wait long before figuring out what Thomas had started to say as he noticed that the Healer had a piece of oddly shaped coal stuck to his chest.

This prompted a round of the guys taking of their clothes while the girls began to evaluate the muscular bodies they saw. It was quickly apparent that everyone, even the non-Digidestined now had a medallion either around their neck, or attached to their chest. "Well, now I know what happened this time." Hermione said.

"This time?" Most of the group asked her.

Hermione shrugged, "Last time I fell asleep like that… well, last time I actually went to sleep to be precise, I woke up with a parasitic sword stuck to my hand."

-Well that was awkward.- A voice said in Joe's head.

"Who said that?" Joe hollered.

Harry stared at Joe, "No one said anything after what Hermione said."

Joe however was looking around. However, he froze as he heard the voice, -Don't you remember your buddy Joe? I thought we were partners.-

Joe's eyes widened, "Um guys? I think there might be a problem."

"What is it?" Sara asked.

"Um, I can hear Gomamon in my head."

Davis chuckled, "You know that's a sign of insanity right?"

Takuya, who was standing behind him, was not amused. At the comment, he reared back and slapped Davis hard, causing the boy to go sprawling in the dirt.

"Hey what was that for?"

The Zanpakuto users and Hermione glared at Davis before Harry spoke up. "You are an idiot Davis. Some of us actually do have voices in their heads and it is quite serious."

Davis looked at the glaring people before shrugging, "It was just a joke."


	10. A trip to far away

While she was cleaning Mimi's room, Satoe Tachikawa happened upon a little book under Mimi's pillow. Curious, she opened it up to find a diary. Though she would not have read it before, she hadn't seen her daughter properly for years and was curious.

…

After reading the diary, Satoe was so alarmed that she quickly got the rest of the parents together in the living room and spoke up. "I found my daughter's diary."

Tai's father looked at her and then shrugged. "I don't see what the deal is."

"It explains where our children went."

"Well of course, Izzi and the others went to a boarding school." Izzi's mom said.

Satoe slammed the book down on the coffee table, "No they haven't!"

This caused all the parents to look up in shock.

Matt and TK's dad spoke up, "Does it have anything to do with Digimon?"

Satoe's mouth flew open before she spoke, "Huh-how did you know?"

This sent the parents into a frenzy, it couldn't be, not again!

"Start talking." Mr. Ishida said patiently.

"They're in another world. According to this, they're at a school for magic. It also said that some of the children have died… and were reborn."

"Who?" the group cried.

"Let's see… Oh here it is." Satoe said, thumbing through the pages, "'We later found that they died and were reborn into the forms they now have. Izzi now has skin like a beetle's, Ken looks part fly, Suzie looks like a fox-girl, Harry and Takuya are both part wolf, Koichi's got lion in him now, and Marcus is part bear. However, we were greatful to get the news about this thing that has Hermione Granger's body. His name is Bruce and he is one of eight shadow beings that have been keeping the Sovereign hostage."

At this, Izzi's mother and father were stunned. However, both nodded at Satoe to continue.

"And this one here is from the end of their third year at the school, "Kaskana's dead. However, we paid a heavy price. Where Harry has died twice and some of the others once last year, we, our own group no less, lost one permenantly. We got an alert that Kaskana was on the move so we ran out to fight. It was a hard battle and some of us got injured but we weren't making any progress. In one last act of bravery, Tai ran at Kaskana and delivered the final blow… just… just as Kaskana delivered the final blow at Tai."

The Kamiya's screamed. They were cut off however by another passage.

"Tai's alive! Apparently when Koichi and Sara bonded, Tai's medallion allowed him to be revived! If only Davis had been so lucky… I can tell that Ken feels the weight of that responsibility greatly."

Mr. Ishida gulped before speaking, "We have to help them somehow. Does the diary give you any ideas?"

Satoe flipped back to the beginning, "Izzi explained it to us once, apparently the Digital World was created by technology but is powered by the hopes and dreams of the people in the Real World. Takato said that his team was able to wish for what they needed and they got it somehow. We have to want it hard enough. Of course, after that he went into his techno-speak but if I believe that Rosemon can win, she WILL win. Because children wish for more, they have the potential to be Digidestined. That's why we got picked instead of adults. Of course, three of us were chosen as adults but that was in the world of DATS."

"Well I wish that I could help my children, I'll do anything." Mr. Ishida said.

The rest of the group nodded and their wishes filled their whole bodies. When everyone opened their eyes, they were shocked to see a strange black void that was darker than the sky, which had looked strange since Halloween. As one, the adults walked through, only to find themselves somewhere else.

…

The lightning was driving Jun crazy. It just wouldn't stop for a second. Though it was Christmas day, the snow never fell… anywhere around the world. Of course, things would be more interesting if Matt was around but she hadn't seen him for years. Rumor had it that Matt had actually quit The Teenage Wolves seven years ago, vanishing into thin air. Now she stood beside her parents as they stared out at the sky. However, their quiet moment was shattered as the lightning cracked, striking each one of them and transporting them somewhere else. Like it or not, the parents and families of the Digidestined had just gotten involved.

…

CRACK! Yamaki jumped and then mentally scolded himself. Why was he jumpy when he should be used to this eternal storm? He sighed and looked up at the strange otherworld that hovered above him. His assistant, Riley handed him a very powerful telescope which she had just tracked down. Now he looked through it and gasped.

"What is it sir?" Riley asked him.

"Look."

Riley took the telescope and jumped in shock. With the high powered lens, she could see a group of people, including a very familiar set of faces, those of the Tamers. "How… what?"

Before Yamaki could answer, he began to hear voices coming in faintly, "Mean?"

"I… know, maybe Harry … know."

Yamaki thought for a moment before trying something strange. Curious, he asked Riley to get him some headphones. When she came back, he put them over his ears and could hear clearly.

"…I don't know what these medallions will do to us but if Joe's hearing voices then that's not a good sign." A growly voice intoned.

"Maybe it's like our Biomerge only they biomerged with their rookie digimon?" Came the voice of Janyu's son Henry.

"Oh puh-lease. What would a chunk of ash have to do with a biomerge?" Rika Nonako's voice spoke up.

"Well my question is what these figures did the first team." The growly voice pointed out.

Yamaki took the headphones off. "Whatever that place is, it is where they are."

"What do you mean?"

"I just heard Henry Wong and Rika Nonako discussing some medallions." He then put the headphones on in time to hear, "I wish I hadn't lost Yamaki's communicator. Maybe he'd be able to help."

"He gave you his communicator Henry?" Takato Matsuki's voice rang out.

"And a strange suitcase. But we got shunted into the first team's world before I could grab it."

"So how would you guys have gotten into the Digital World anyway? We use the Digital Dive." A gruff voice rang out.

"We use the trains." An Italian accent rang out.

"Well there's this portal by where Guilimon hung out. It activated the day we left and has remained active in the summer. Maybe it's active again?"

Yamaki threw off the headphones. "Get the parents."

"Why sir?"

"We're going to the Digital World.

Five minutes later, Yamaki had gathered the parents of all the Tamers together and the families were listening to Yamaki explain the dangers of the portal. "It could hurt you but it's the only way to get to your kids."

A bystander who overheard the conversation quickly turned around. "I know the danger my old students faced. If we are scared of one little energy vortex, we aren't good mentors to the kids."

"Who are you?" Yamaki asked.

"Kari Miyuki. I was their teacher when they were Tamers." After Mrs. Miyuki said that, she quickly ran into the old shed and dived into the portal there. With looks at each other, the others quickly followed.

…

Shinya Kanbara lounged on a tree, staring at the last gift Takuya had given him before he had… changed. After he left seven years ago, Takuya had quickly become distant, having strange conversations with an imaginary friend named Harry when he thought no one was listening.

Shinya was quickly startled out of his thoughts by a strange message on his phone. It was a simple text that read, Takuya Kanbara is in danger. Startled, Shinya fell out of his tree and into the arms of a brown haired guy who had just happened to see the boy fall.

"Kid, what do you think you are doing, falling like that?" The man who had saved him, Yutaka Himi froze when he saw the boy's face. "What's wrong?"

"I got this message that said my brother is in danger."

At this, Yutaka promptly dropped the kid and showed him the contents of HIS cell phone. "So did I."

Shinya quickly read the message out loud, "Tommy Himi is in danger. Hey, my brother hangs out with a kid named Tommy."

The two looked at each other before they got beeps on their phones. When they read the identical messages, "If you want to help your brother, go to Shibuya Station. When you arrive, take the elevator to the basement." The two quickly panicked.

Yutaka and Shinya panted. They had run as fast as they could to the station and were tired. However, they were startled when their parents, the Kanbaras and the Himis quickly called their names. Before they could answer, the elevator opened up to reveal a strange train. The two exchanged looks before leading the group of people with them to the train. Shinya broke the silence with a, "Think the train will take us to Takuya?"

With that, the group got a shock as the train, yes the train began talking. "Did you say Takuya?"

Shinya gulped before answering, "Yeah, do you know him?"

"Met him once. That was back before he got famous. He was down on his luck so he wound up on my platform. Took him to the human world but when he got back, he was a different person. Now he and the rest of the Legendary Warriors are famous."

Yutaka raised an eyebrow before speaking, "Did you hear about Tommy Hi-"

"Tommy, warrior of ice? Well of course. He was a little guy I heard but he had a lot of spunk. Heard a rumor that he says he owes everything to his brother Yutaka."

Some of the other adults quickly began bombarding the train with questions, "Do you know where my Zoe is?"

"And JP, my son?"

"Koji?"

"Where is Koichi?"

The train sighed, "I don't know where any of the warriors are. So are you the group going cross-digiworld?"

"Huh?" Shinya asked.

The trained rolled his eyes and then clarified, "Lord Cherubimon said that we Trailmon needed to get a group of humans to another Digital World. I'm the best at this thing so I volunteered. Said they'd have proof."

Curious, Shinya took a look at his phone. Seeing the message on it, he gasped and showed it to the train, "Shinya Kanbara's fare to Digital World 27 has been paid in full."

"Yup, that's it. So hop on."

In a rush, the group ran to the open doors, only to have them shut. "Only one fare has been confirmed."

With that, the group pulled out their cell phones to find similar messages. When they showed them to the train, he quickly let them pass. Once everyone was on board, he quickly pulled out and the group left their home.

…

Sara Damon looked at the sky before walking to the ruins of DATS headquarters where her son and husband had once worked. When she got there, she noticed that a strange circle that she knew as the Digital Dive was completely fixed and active. She had gotten a feeling that she had to come here and now was shocked that it had paid off. As she looked on, she heard footsteps and turned to see more people show up. One of these men, Kevin Crier looked at the Digital Dive in shock.

"How did it get fixed and active?"

Sara shrugged before speaking up, "I think it was activated for us."

Kevin looked at her before conceding, "I suppose you are right."

With that, the group all stepped on the Digital Dive and found themselves on different soil.


	11. Parents and prophecy

Harry was listening to reports from the rest of the Digidestined. After sending out scouting teams, it had become apparent that this was the Digital World they had been visiting, but it was destroyed. As he listened to Marcus's report on the West, he worried that they had done something wrong.

"It was much worse than before we freed Azulongmon. Instead of a plain it was just rock. It-" Marcus broke off as he heard a voice he didn't expect.

Sara Damon had quickly shaken off the disorientation from the travel to find her son talking to a strange wolf man. After the shock wore off, Sara quickly screamed, "Marcus!"

"Muh-mum?" Marcus turned around, revealing that the strange bear suit he was wearing was not a suit. "What are you doing here?"

Sara gaped at her son, "I came through the Digital Dive, someone activated it."

Marcus made a funny noise before speaking. "Mum, this is Harry, the leader of the Digidestined."

Harry stared at her for a moment before speaking, "So you are Sara Damon? Marcus' Agumon told me all about your fried eggs."

More people were arriving, each arrival becoming more disturbing. What had been a quick leader's meeting was now a family gathering. Kari was wrapped up in a bear hug by her own parents, Takato had to deal with a teary eyed mother and an angry father, Ken was listening to his mother asking about his health, and Takuya was trying to keep his brother from strangling him.

Seeing the spectacle, Harry cleared his throat before speaking. "Could the families of Tai and Kari Kamiya, Matt Ishida, TK Takaishi, Mimi Tachikawa, Sora Takenouchi, Joe Kido, and Izzi Izumi come with me?"

All the families looked at each other before the named parents walked off with Harry.

"Alright, can you explain how you got here?"

Satoe, Mimi's mother spoke up. "I found her diary by mistake. I've been worried so I read through it and-"

"Let me guess, it had everything in it."

"Yes."

"And you got the rest of the parents together to discuss it?"

"Yes."

"And somewhere there was mention of how the Digiworld worked?"

"Yes."

"So you tried it?"

"Yes."

Harry rubbed his goggles before speaking, "Well I doubt that the others kept diaries. Could you send the Brenans, the Ichijojis, the Hidas, the Motimoyas, and the Inoues over?"

…

And so it went until Harry finally had the whole story. With a sigh, he leaned on a burnt tree before speaking. "I sent messages to the team. I hope you can hold off your questions until then?" As a group, the families nodded, starting a waiting game. When the last Digidestined arrived, Harry spoke up again, "Apparently, your Sovereign thought that we were in danger. As such, events were staged to bring your families here. The cases were similar except for one. Mimi." Harry turned to the girl, "Your diary was found."

Mimi's eyes widened, "How could I have forgotten it!?"

"Now we are stuck with a dilemma. If we show your parents the truth, they will not be too happy. However, we have to. Kari, could you have your team take of their robes? Ken, Takuya, Marcus, Koichi, Suzie, you too?"

One by one, the group complied with Hermione even throwing off her cloak to reveal the sword attached to her arm. Screams rang out at strange features and markings until Harry had to calm everyone down. "For those of you who do not know, your children were selected to protect another world. Each group was paired with one, sometimes two partners who helped them with this task. Each group succeeded and became heroes, returning home without their partners to live out their lives."

At this, the parents of the fourth team and Willis' parents looked at their children in shock.

"Seven years ago, they were called upon once again. Masqueading as witches and wizards in training, they watched Hogwarts. Then I came along. I followed the leader of the fourth team and we bonded in such a way that we are always there for each other, mental partners. The next year, we learned that seven shadows had been holding this world hostage, all while keeping a seal in place that prevented their master from appearing. As we defeated each shadow, the land was restored and the seal was weakened. We lost some people along the way but luckily we gained them back. Some of us were changed, some gained powers, but now some of us have… I don't know how to explain it." Harry then turned to Takato, "The leader of our third group, the Tamers however, has an idea."

Takato's parents beamed as he stood and spoke, "Yamaki, I think that you and Henry's father might be able to explain what happened to Kari's team." Takato then explained the events of the past day before finishing and looking at the tall man.

However, Janyu Wong was the one to answer, "I think they've merged with their Digimon somehow. It sounds like they now are their partners."

Takuya stood, "So it's like us, only instead of being spirits, their digimon are themselves?"

The Digidestined quickly whispered among themselves, the Tamers pulling out strange card decks and debating about their usefulness.

"It shouldn't affect the cards though. I would like to know how each group Digivolves though." Janyu asked.

Kari stood up, "We help our partners by using our energy as well as our Digimon's to do so."

Ken was next, "We do that too but most of our group also makes friendships with a partner human and the Digimon Digivolve together. We also use special eggs to unlock other forms."

"We use cards to boost our Digimon's abilities and help them evolve. We also become one with them to help them go to Mega, combining with them." Takato said.

"We are our own partners, our will to fight and self-control helping us to evolve further." Takuya supplied.

"And we use the energy in our bodies to help our partners do the job." Marcus finished.

Janyu thought for a moment before speaking. "I think that you are merging in a way that allows you to use all those ways to Digivolve. This first team now carries the spirits of their Digimon with them but they also use their own method. Perhaps they can digivolve with a partner like Ken said or using special eggs or energy?"

At this, the Digidestined began eyeballing each other before Izzi pulled out an item he hadn't used for years, his computer. When he touched it, the people present got a shock as he began to scream.

Harry leapt over the Izumis before ripping off Izzi's shirt. Noticing the medallion disappearing and the computer starting to flash, Harry grabbed Izzi's hand and put it on the computer while yelling at Izzi, "Relax, stop fighting it. If you fight it off, you'll suffocate. Just relax!"

Izzi however was not calming down. At last his parents reached him but Harry pushed them back with a wall of fire.

"Izzi, what's…" Harry thought for a moment… "What's your favorite thing about your world?"

Izzi thought for a moment.

"What do you do?"

"I-I" Izzi choked before speaking up, "I eat breakfast then I go up to my room and play some trivia. Then I hack something or make a program. If I feel like it, I'll send some mail to my friends. I eat lunch in my room and play some more trivia and then eat dinner and go to sleep."

Harry noticed that the medallion was gone and Izzi wasn't panicking anymore. "How do you feel?"

Izzi blinked for a moment before rubbing his head, "What was that?"

"Your medallion activated when you touched your computer." Harry looked around, "But it's gone."

"What, my medallion?" Izzi said sluggishly.

"No, your computer."

At this, Izzi began to sit up and search. However, Harry, an idea forming in his head, pinned Izzi to the ground.

"Izzi, settle down."

"But my computer!"

"You haven't used that thing in years, what did you need it for?"

"I wanted to see if my Digimon Analyzer had anything on alternative means of Digivolution."

"Well…." Harry thought for a moment. "Don't you use those little charms around your necks?"

"Crests and tags, of course!"

"And I remember Davis saying something about eggs and partnering with other humans."

"Armor Digivolution and DNA Digivolution!"

"And Kari was telling me about these cards that Rika's group was using."

"Cards?" With that, Izzi's eyes turned white. Looking closely at them, Harry was shocked to see strange symbols darting in them before they finally changed back to brown. "That's called Digi-Modify or Modified Digivolution."

Though Harry had guessed that Izzi no longer needed his computer, Harry was shocked to see his theory proven correct. "Izzi, I don't know how to say this but you ARE your computer now. It's missing because… because somehow you absorbed it."

Hearing this statement, the group gasped, Izzi's parents going mad with worry.

"Calm down!" Harry snapped.

Everyone stared at Harry and his eyes were wide at the sound he had just made. "I-I mean, we need to be calm here. Joe's hearing the voice of his Digimon, Digidestined are being forced into a new breathing pattern, Izzi's merged with his computer… I'm beginning to think that these medallions are more than just protective."

"You would be right… Candlemon." At the voice, the group turned to see Zhuquaomon smiling at them.

"I'm not Candlemon, I'm his partner." Harry said.

"You're not Candlemon… yet."

At this, Sara jumped at the Divine Bird Digimon. "What do you mean? What have you done to Harry!?"

At this, Zhuquaomon flung a tongue of fire at her, engulfing her in flames. After a moment, Harry was able to douse the flames. However, he noticed that the medallion the girl wore was glowing slightly, almost as though it was sucking in all the heat from the now dead flames.

Angry that one of his own had been attacked, Harry reached for his sword. Zhuquaomon however was quick to discourage him, "You don't want to do that… unless you want to accept your fate!" At that, the Digimon cackled and vanished in a streak of flame.

Harry turned to the others, each of his team exchanging a glance. "What is going on?"

-Ours is the world of the Prophecy!-

At this, the Digidestined reeled back. They knew this voice, Fenglongmon's. However, it was weaker, barely noticeable.

Harry turned to Izzi. "Got anything?"

Izzi shrugged, "Negative."

Suddenly in his mind's eye, Harry saw a line of text.

"When Seven fall to Seven who seek to hold their own

When heroes are made across time and space

When babe holds hope for a desperate race" Harry intoned. Then, he thought. "When Seven fall to Seven… the fall of the Sovereign?"

Izzi however was thinking about the second line, "When heroes are made across time and space? Well we are all heroes to our Digital World."

"So then who is the babe?" Cody's grandfather wondered.

"Me." Harry said. "I am destined to stop an evil lord from effectively killing off a race of people."

"That sounds like a prophecy young wolf cub."

The group turned to see a two headed turtle Digimon that Ryo quickly recognized, "Ebowamon?"

Ebowamon nodded and continued, "As the oldest of the Seven Sovereign, it has been my job to guard the prophecies of this world. However, none have dealt with Digimon here. However, we Ebowamon have whispered that there is another prophecy, the prophecy to end all prophecies."

"Where can we find it?" Harry asked, "If it exists."

Ebowamon looked troubled but then continued, "Outlet Portal, the point where all Digiworlds are united."

The reaction was instantaneous, "Not… there?" Harry hollered as many Digidestined exchanged looks of horror.

However, it was Sara who spoke up, "I know I don't have a Digimon Partner and I haven't died for the cause but I do know you should all be ashamed of yourselves."

Everyone looked at her in shock.

"We have a chance to find out what is happening with us, why Izzi is now a computer or Joe is hearing his Digimon. And what do we do? We run around and show everyone we are scared little children. You!" She turned to Harry, "Did you back down when you fused with Takuya? Koichi, did you let Koji die? Lavender, did you turn tail and run? No! You pressed on! You made the ultimate sacrifice so we could continue our way of life in a place and time many of you don't need to protect. Why should today be any different?"

Harry stared at her, realizing that this girl was more than he thought. As he spoke, he couldn't help but think that he picked the perfect person for his second in command. "Sara's right. We need to see if this prophecy exists and we need to do anything to meet that goal. If we have to face another string of horrors, we should do so with the knowledge that we are Digidestined, we wield Zanpakuto, we are witches, wizards, Gryffindor and Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. We didn't come this far to give up now so let us go face our destiny!" With that, the Digidestined cheered and everyone set off for Lord's Mountain and the Outlet Portal.

A few kilometers from their destination, Harry halted the group. "We don't know what Outlet Portal will do to any of you. Because of this, I ask that all adults and families stay behind. We would leave a partner for your protection however we seem to be unable to call them to us."

A few of the adults glanced at each other but Harry stopped them with an explanation, "What happened at Outlet Portal keeps some of us up at night, screaming in terror. Though we know we have to go back there, we don't want to put anyone else in harm's way."

At this, several adults nodded and sat down. Noticing this, the Digidestined thanked their parents and the group made the final leg of their journey.

Harry walked up front, chatting to Sara when he picked up a scent that was familiar. At this, he raised his voice, "If you are going to follow us, at least have the decency to do it in the open, Himi Yutaka and Kanbara Shinya."

Several Digidestined turned to see those Harry named coming out of hiding. Yutaka was furious, "How did you know I was there?"

"I could smell you."

"Wha…?"

"Car oil, ice, romance, anger, rejection, and cluelessness. Shinya doesn't smell like car oil or romance but he does have the scent of worry on him." Harry said with a quick shrug.

Yutaka and Shinya opened their mouths to say something insulting but Harry, Takuya, and Tommy broke down into laughter. After a moment of this, Takuya wiped his eyes and spoke up, "I wasn't paying attention but something you learn pretty fast is that some of us have very heightened senses. It's not an insult, it's a fact. If you have to, think of us as dogs."

Harry then turned to their destination. "Well if you insist in coming, let's go."

"HARRY!" Takuya and Tommy yelled.

"If they weren't supposed to come, something would have deterred them."

…

At last, the group stood at the place they had once been changed at. Instead of a cave under a majestic mountain, Outlet Portal was now a crater. The statues that had once lined it were gone and the lake was dry. As the group walked on, a light began to shine where the lake once stood. The group approached it.

As soon as they stepped on the place where the lakebed once was, glowing Digi-Code appeared in mid-air. Those who had been changed last year could read it clearly but for those who couldn't, Harry read it out loud:

The Prophecy of the Digidestined

When Seven fall to Seven who seek to hold their own

When heroes are made across time and space

When babe holds hope for a desperate race

Then shall friends return to friends lost

As Five turn into One

And Five turn to One

The call goes out

As darkness bides its time

Waiting for the day when he shall cleanse his race

When mistaken danger leads to secrets unveiled

Then shall darkness cover every world

Luring the worried to the fight

Listen to firebird's cry

As the question spills the night

Why must we seek help from the human race?

On a dusty barren moon calls a pool of neon green

Seeking souls for the Slayer

To aide in the fight against evil thought

Chained to his realm, the lord plots revenge

For crimes uncommitted

Reaching out as he waits

In a world cursed by death

Souls split when worlds were young

Join together; leave their mark, uniting for the final task

Fallen angel wanders the world, past forgotten

Seeking what was long forgotten

'Till death releases ancient truth

Then at last the stage is set

And the question is asked once more

What is the meaning of Digidestiny?

As new changes are wrought

Will love embrace that which is misunderstood?

Or will it kill that it is sworn to protect?

Will lost souls return home?

Or will barren world claim its prize?

As the truth comes to light.

As the final word died, the group looked at each other. Some parts seemed familiar but others… others were unfamiliar and troublesome. Knowing that they had others that were waiting for them, the Digidestined returned to the adults.

Several of the adults noticed that their children looked shaken. At last, Henry's sensei decided to speak up. "Did you find it?"

"Yes." Henry said in a troubled voice.

"Well why don't we break it down? I'm sure it was long."

Izzi nodded and spoke up, "When Seven fall to Seven who seek to hold their own

When heroes are made across time and space

When babe holds hope for a desperate race."

"Well we already solved that, when these Seven Sovereign fall to seven shadows that want to hold their own lord in place and when the Digidestined succeed in taking down their evils and when Harry holds the hope for the magical community…"

"Then shall friends return to friends lost

As Five turn into One

And Five turn to One"

"Well didn't you lose your friends after the final battle?"

Henry and the rest of the Digidestined nodded.

"But they were returned to you. And I think the fives are your groups. There were five groups sent to take on this menace so they became one large group."

"And they turned to me to lead them." Harry said with a shock.

The call goes out

As darkness bides its time

Waiting for the day when he shall cleanse his race

"Well the one thing I noticed here was that it changes to name someone who wants to purify his race. Sometimes, prophecies relate to multiple events. You've been gone for seven years so was there anything that happened that would point to this?"

"Voldermort." Harry said.

"Pardon?"

"At the end of my first year, I had to take on a man who had been possessed by another. The other, Voldermort wanted to kill everyone who was not of purely wizarding blood."

When mistaken danger leads to secrets unveiled

Then shall darkness cover every world

Luring the worried to the fight

Shinya spoke up, "You aren't in danger are you?"

"We are but nothing we haven't been in before." Takuya said.

"I've been worried about you especially when they sky went weird. So maybe?"

Listen to firebird's cry

As the question spills the night

Why must we seek help from the human race?

"Well that's obvious." Rika said. "Zhuquaomon, the fire-bird Sovereign has always hated us having to help."

On a dusty barren moon calls a pool of neon green

Seeking souls for the Slayer

To aide in the fight against evil thought

"That one is easy." Harry said. "The English translation for the word Zanpakuto is Soul Slayer. It is describing when we discovered the Zanpakuto two years ago in order to fight Shihai."

Chained to his realm, the lord plots revenge

For crimes uncommitted

Reaching out as he waits

At this line, the group looked at each other in confusion.

"Wait, I remember I was talking about Kyoto's history with Sora's dad and Joe's brother. There were five beasts that guarded the city. If I remember correctly, the Sovereign were based off of them except for Fenglongmon. Maybe he is the lord?" Yolei asked.

"But what about crimes uncommitted? Harry asked. "Izzi, what was the next one again?"

In a world cursed by death

Souls split when worlds were young

Join together; leave their mark, uniting for the final task

"That's me!" Hermione said.

Everyone looked at her.

"In a world cursed by death. If you stopped moving on Faelith, you would turn to a tree and wither away. Souls split when worlds were young, I was born with half a soul and the other half has existed since the start of the universe. Join together; leave their mark. We joined together and healed Faelith, uniting for the final task, that's to come." Hermione quickly explained.

Fallen angel wanders the world, past forgotten

Seeking what was long forgotten

'Till death releases ancient truth

"I think that explains Fell. She said she was an angel that fell from heaven but was cast out of hell. When she was, she forgot her past until Hermione 'killed' her and she remembered it all." Pansy said.

Then at last the stage is set

And the question is asked once more

What is the meaning of Digidestiny?

Harry thought about this and then spoke, "I think this part says that when all the above happens, the meaning of our jobs as Digidestined will be found out."

As new changes are wrought

Will love embrace that which is misunderstood?

Or will it kill that it is sworn to protect?

"I think this talks about what will happen. Something will change and it will cause those we love to make a choice, look past the misunderstood and accept it? Or kill what used to be loved." Harry mused.

Will lost souls return home?

Or will barren world claim its prize?

As the truth comes to light.

"This part worries us. I think it says that we may be forced to remain here or we may be able to go back to our homes." Harry finished.

Several of the adults whistled at the strange words. However, this would quickly be forgotten for at that moment, Harry and Takuya heard their Zanpakutos calling to them, telling them to hurry back for danger was approaching.

Plans were made to keep the parents safe and then the Digidestined returned to the Human World, worried about their own fates.


	12. Those they swore to protect

The Digidestined of Hogwarts came out fighting. With swords drawn, they sprang into action against what looked like an Apocalymon. However, the events of the day caused them to fall quickly, one by one until only Takuya, Sara, and Harry remained, fighting around the fallen bodies of their friends. As the fight dragged on, Sara's concentration was broken by the sound of someone approaching. Turning to see Professor Snape coming, Sara received a strike to the shoulder, causing her to fall to the ground in pain.

…

With Snape throwing spell after spell, the trio fought as though it would be their last battle. However, fatigue quickly took its toll and the two wolves fell, quickly followed by their headmaster.

…

Harry fell to the ground, his eyes blurring and the screams of his greatest tormentor in his ears. At last he hit the ground, his chest burning with an odd fire. At the instant that he landed, bouncing once before coming to a stop, he thought he saw his mother and his father standing there, next to his old professor, Dumbledore.

Unable to look away, Harry stared at the trio, wondering why he was in pain if he was dead. More people appeared, some looking like they had his features, some looking like strangers. This group crowded around him, staring at his motionless body. As he lay, he began to feel his heart beat oddly and his eyes cleared. However, the figures still stood there, his mother holding her hand to him.

"Mu-mum?"

"Yes Harry."

"I don't understand."

"You fought to the last breath. " Dumbledore said in admiration. "That caused the stone I gave you, concealed in the first Snitch you caught to activate. We're all dead. Something activated though and our presence is fading." With that, the group vanished to leave Harry lying on the ground.

Though his heart beat fully, Harry still couldn't move. He saw Madame Pomphrey pick him up and put him on a stretcher which was then wheeled to the Hospital Wing. He heard a roar in his ears and felt something pushing, wanting to come out. Gathering what little strength he had, Harry reached his hand out and felt something metallic around his fingers. As they closed around the metal, Harry's eyes closed and he found himself somewhere else.

"Harry-san."

Harry opened his eyes to find himself in an old Japanese Dojo. He blinked his eyes to clear them and noticed an old blind man standing there next to him.

"Harry-san."

"Yes teacher?" Harry said in Japanese.

"Harry my student, I have some words of advice." His Sensei said in Japanese. "It is at our lowest point that we are open to the greatest change. You stand at a crossroads. Will you abandon what you once knew to save everything or will you stay yourself and leave your home in chaos?"

The man sat down next to Harry. "You fight well with those around you. However, you need to learn how to understand them as you understand yourself. Will you listen to your heart? If you do, you can never be the same but you will find a partner ever more loyal that Takuya." As the last word was spoken, Harry's vision changed to show the ceiling of the hospital wing.

Harry reflected on his teacher's words, wondering at their meaning. How could he understand other people the same way he could understand himself? At that, his eyes went wide as he realized his sensei had never mentioned people at all. "Guh-Galon Tân?" Harry whispered, noticing that his sword was in his hand. "Galon Tân, I need your help. I need help understanding you. Wh-who are you?"

As he looked at his sword, he felt the same presence trying to get out. This time, he decided to help it, screaming in agony as he did so. After what felt like hours, Harry saw a form appear, the form of a dragon with its tail tied to that of a phoenix.

"I am here." The soft spoken phoenix and the gravelly voiced dragon said in unity.

"Who-who are you? I know you are this sword but…" Harry dropped the weapon.

"We are the same as the blade, a manifestation of your spirit. We are the boy that was picked on year after year, the wolf who runs free, the warrior who holds two worlds in his hands."

"You are me?"

"Yes…"

The realization hit Harry hard. He had thought the sword was just a tool with two teachers to go with it. But the sword was his spirit? Was his spirit really a pair of fire beings? When he thought about it, Harry was quick to accept it and the pair stared at him.

"I see you understand. Though many would not know this, there is another side to us, one that is the ultimate power. Most of our kind would have to be beaten down but you have always done that, smothering our flame so yours might burn brighter. However, if you can work with us, truly work with us…" With that, the pair vanished and Harry was left in the hospital wing. He noticed that Takuya beside him had a strangely shocked look on his face while Sara on his other side was having a one-sided conversation with someone. In the bed across from him, Harry saw Professor Snape was there, moaning and writhing in pain. Noticing that they were there with him and the others were sleeping in other beds, Harry sheathed his sword and got up.

…

"Sara, would you like the power to save the world?"

Sara stared at her Zanpakuto's form, for the second time in her life, she was seeing it in the real world. "Of course I do."

"Then defeat me in battle."

"I can't do that, Garedig Galon."

"I thought I trained you better. If you can best me in battle, you will have the power to fight at a level most could never achieve."

With tears in her eyes, Sara got up, noticing that Harry was gone. Faced with the thought of attacking her Zanpakuto, she was glad that the fire being was gone. "A-alright. How should we do this?"

The squirrel man threw a strange katana at the girl before speaking. "Fight. If you want it badly enough, you can cut steel with a toothpick. But if you are undecided, you will not be able to cut a toothpick with steel."

Sara's mind flashed with the memories of everyone she had met these past three years, remembered when she had met her blade outside of her mind, and with new conviction, she grabbed the blade.

…

Takuya jumped out of the way of a claw. For some reason, a spirit that looked very similar to Agunimon had appeared and tried to attack him. Takuya's pleas to stop fighting had fallen on deaf ears, forcing him to duck and dodge. At last, he decided to take the offensive, but Kūki no Hono wouldn't respond.

…

Sara slashed at her friend, finally scoring a hit. Though she never wanted to hurt Garedig Galon, she didn't want her family to die. With this thought in mind, her movements grew more and more vicious and her sword struck more and more. She was dimly aware that she was sustaining wounds herself but she kept going.

…

Takuya howled in pain as a claw raked his face. He couldn't rely on his sword or Harry it seemed. For the first time in his life, he felt alone… A blow hit him in the thigh and he spun, striking his opponent in the chest. As his opponent fell, he heard Agunimon's voice screaming. Before he could think about that, a spirit like BurningGreymon jumped him and he was locked in battle once again.

…

It seemed that neither was making any headway, both seemed to know the other's moves. As Sara spun and struck, she suddenly saw herself from a high vantage point. As she looked on at her own fight, she noticed that both fighters were locked in a dance that seemed to go nowhere. A thought crossed her mind that maybe she should try a different tactic and suddenly she was back to facing Garedig Galon.

…

Though he was shaken by the scream he had heard, Takuya knew he had to kill or be killed. An opening presented itself and he darted in, the spirit vanishing with the strike. Now he was facing himself, unable to think about the fight he was now in.

…

The use of other tactics was working, Sara was scoring more hits. However, Garedig Galon wasn't going down, even though blood coursed from every part of his body. In fact, he seemed to be speeding up…

…

Takuya was now facing a winged wolf who seemed to fight just as he did. Knowing that he could die if he faltered, he switched to other ways of fighting, adapting the strategies of the other Digidestined…

…

At the same moment, Snape woke up and Sara and Takuya ran their opponents through. As Snape got out of bed, the two students fell, only barely able to be caught by the man.

…

Takuya woke to find Harry standing over him while Sara was helped out of bed by Snape. The boy was confused until he remembered the events that had just transpired. "I-I think I just killed Agunimon and BurningGreymon."

"We don't have time for that."

"What?"

"Mimi's parents just attacked her."

At this, Takuya was out of bed. "What?"

"Apparently, she went to visit them but they tried to beat her. Luckily, Megumi was there with her and able to pull her off them. But for some reason, as soon as Megumi pulled them off her, they started talking to Mimi as though they hadn't seen her."

"As changes are wrought/ Will love embrace that which is misunderstood/ Or will it kill that which it sword to protect." Takuya said.

"What?"

"The Prophecy." Takuya said. "I'd bet that they saw something in Mimi that reminded them of something else."

Harry opened his mouth and then closed it, thinking. "But what would make them attack their own daughter?"

"If only we knew."


	13. The end is near

The Digital World- Location Unknown

"At laaaaaast. It is time to tear the world to pieces."

…

The Human World- Location Unknown

"It's missing?" Voldermort was stunned as he stared at his servant, Bellatrix Lestrange. "Are you sure?"

"What is more, there were reports of a cloaked girl stealing it a-dragonback."

"My diary, my ring, my locket, now my cup?" the skull-faced man hollered angrily.

"My lord." Amycus Carrow appeared.

"Yes Amycus?"

"My lord, Alecto has betrayed us. She led Potter to the Diadem of Ravenclaw. And… And she refuses to punish any of the students anymore."

…

Nearby, a tall woman and a young 17 year old man listened in on the conversation. It sounded like the group had been busy. The woman quickly jumped as she heard the evil wizard speak once more.

…

"Is Nagini still watching over Godric's Hollow?"

"Yes. No one has approached."

"Perhaps Potter has no interest in his family. However, we must attack before she falls."

…

Petunia Dursley looked at the boy, Dean Thomas. "Lily and her husband?"

"I heard they lived in Godric's Hollow but I didn't believe it."

Petunia rubbed her eyes, lost in thought. "We should take the snake down but…"

"But?"

"I just discovered the place where my husband is living."

Dean frowned. "And you want to see him again."

To this, Petunia nodded.

Dean remembered the past few months with her, the way she always kept him safe. With this on his mind, Dean looked up at the woman and spoke up, "Let's go."

…

A shack in the woods- Location Unknown

Dean and Petunia appeared at the location of Petunia's husband. They noticed that the shack was well kept, the house smelling of fresh paint. Petunia hesitated for a moment before knocking on the door.

His mustache missing, Vernon Dursley looked like someone who had been working out, the fat on his body gone. When he opened the door however, Petunia instantly recognized him and hugged him with tears in her eyes.

"Get off of me. Who are you?" He yelled, shoving her off.

"Vernon, it's me, Petunia."

Vernon stared at the woman, unsure of her claim. However, he soon noticed she was wearing a familiar ring. At that, he broke down in tears, hugging his wife as though she had come back from the dead. "Petunia, where have you been?"

"Ireland, Scotland, spent some time in Russia. I've always hoped to find you again though."

"Petunia?" Dean's voice rang out.

Petunia broke off her hug. "What is it Dean?"

"We've got company."

Petunia whirled around to see a black hooded figure. Quickly, she shoved her husband to the ground and pulled her knife out. "Fall from the trees, Rīfu no kōtō!" At the release command, Petunia threw her dagger as Dean began shooting spells. The two had quickly learned to work as a team, each covering the weaknesses of the other.

From the ground, Vernon watched the battle, wondering who this woman was. His wife would never know how to use a knife like that and she most certainly would never ally herself with a spellcaster. However, he knew that smell, that ring, that look. With that, Vernon got up and did something he never would have thought he'd do, even now. He grabbed the handle of an ax, hefted it, and cut the attacker in the head, killing him instantly.

Vernon dropped the bloody weapon, backing up in shock. He couldn't believe it, he had killed someone! He sank down to his knees, aware that someone had their arms around him.

"I know, I know." Petunia's voice whispered in his ear.

Vernon looked up and saw the woman's eyes. They were strangely feral. Before he could comment on this, he saw she was now gasping for breath.

"Petunia!" Dean ran up to her, ripping off her shirt. Sure enough, the medallion she had worn for months was gone. "Petunia, calm down. Your medallion has activated. Don't resist!"

A few minutes passed and Petunia looked up at the pair, "Now I know what that was like." She conceded.

"I wonder why mine hasn't activated yet." Dean asked.

"Well the first group had theirs for years. Izzi's activated when he was trying to use his computer and mine activated when I was trying to confront my husband." Petunia listed.

"I don't know but we have to go, Nagini remember?"

At that, Petunia's eyes flew open and she gasped, "I forgot! But Dean, we can't leave Vernon behind."

"Agreed. That was a Death Eater we took down and where one is, more are sure to follow."

"Can you?"

"I've gotten a lot of practice with you; I should be able to do it. Seamus took me to Godric's Hollow once before."

…

Harry woke up and sat bolt upright. He had just woken from a vision of a darkness coming toward him. Without a doubt, he knew that it was time to call everyone in.

…

The last shadow is coming. It is time to fight.

…

Petunia heard the voice in her ear and looked up from the gravestone she was staring at. With a sigh, she pulled out a flower she had picked before she left for this place and placed it on her sister's grave. She turned to the two men behind her. "It's time to go. But before we do, I need to find it."

Vernon took one of her shoulders while the other was grabbed by Dean, both men helping her. At last, she found the house and gaped at the graffiti that littered a sign marking the place as the house of the Potter family. As she scanned the messages on the sign, she noticed some markings that were not English. These she read for they were in Digi-code.

"It looks like everyone's been here. This one says there was a rumor that the horcrux belonging to Hufflepuff was destroyed. And this one says Thomas is pursuing a lead on the real locket of Slytherin.

After reading the last of the Digi-Code, Petuina drew her dagger and scrawled a message. When she was done, she read it aloud. "His snake is the last of the horcruxes." She then turned, prepared to leave town and get to the battle. However, she saw a woman beckoning to her. Somehow, she knew that the woman was actually a snake, the snake.

Petunia stared at the snake and pulled out her dagger. It was vibrating somehow, and she could see her weapon's spirit beside her. With worried eyes, Petunia spoke out loud. "Rīfu no kōtō, I need your help. Join your strength with mine to save my nephew."

At these words, Dean collapsed. He quickly realized that his medallion was activating and calmly changed. As soon as he got up, Dean threw out his hand and a strange bubble flew out of it. Power burned through him, filling up, needing to get out. With knowledge he never knew he had, he let it out as he blacked out.

The snake fell with a blast of light from Dean. As soon as it died, Dean fell to the ground, Petunia barely able to catch him in time.

…

Dean woke up in Petunia's arms. "What happened?"

"You glowed, there was a blast, and suddenly you were falling." Vernon said.

Dean rubbed his eyes. "We need to get to Hogwarts."


	14. The final shadow

Neville took a slow breath before patting his bed. Instead of living in the Gryffindor Common Room, he had been forced to live in the Room of Requirement to avoid being killed by the Carrows. Around him were others who also had to go into hiding, each wearing a determined expression at what they needed to do. At last, Neville pulled open the great doors and the forgotten started to recapture Hogwarts.

…

"Those underage will leave through a passageway on the seventh floor. Anyone overage who wants to fight will stay here. However, I warn you that if you attack Hogwarts, Hogwarts will treat you as an enemy." Minerva McGonagall was addressing the students of the school, her hand resting comfortably on her sword. This sight caused many of the Slytherin students to keep quiet. At last, the woman finished her speech, "Teachers will escort students to the Room of Requirement before returning here. Good luck."

As the students filled out, Minerva couldn't help but think that more would have stayed if things had gone differently. Maybe she'd find someone who could publish an alternative version? She heard of an English woman whose drawings had looked very familiar, what was her name? Rowling?

…

Those who had stayed to fight were now arrayed on the grounds. Secretly communicating with Severus, Minerva had lowered the protections on the school, leaving it open to the world. Occasionally, a former student or friend of a student would appear and take their place in the line. As the group grew larger, Minerva couldn't help but reflect on the strange "accidents" that had happened to many of the Digidestined, including herself. At last, a dark presence filled the air, causing Minerva to grip her sword.

"It's Voldermort." Harry confirmed, watching the snake-eyed man who had just appeared.

With that, Minerva signaled for the fight to begin, a fight which quickly became hard to follow.

…

Harry walked with measured steps to the man, dodging a spell here, a curse there. In his pocket, a round stone sat, a stone that had once helped him find the strength to rise. At last, he stood before the man who had killed his parents, each one looking the other in the eye.

"Hello Tom." Harry began. "I see you have discovered that you can no longer hide?"

Voldermort stared at Harry and then pulled out a strange wand.

Seeing this, Harry laughed. "I read about that wand. You know you have to defeat its master in battle, right?"

At this, Voldermort swore. He had forgotten to kill Severus.

After hearing Ron pick up on that thought, Harry chuckled. "Dumbledore's death at Snape's hands was not in battle. Even if it had been, the true master of that wand at his death was not Dumbledore or Snape." Harry watched the other man's face before speaking. "It was Draco Malfoy. The boy had disarmed Dumbledore a few minutes before. Ironically, the wand passed ownership again in a practice battle some months ago. The true owner of that wand is me."

Voldermort hissed before speaking, "You? Then I simply have to kill you to make it mine."

"You missed that chance by seven years."

Voldermort pulled out his own wand and spoke the words that killed Harry's parents. "Avada Kedavra!"

The curse that could not be countered, that killed upon impact quickly shot from the man's wand, into the "boy" and collided with a tree behind him. As Voldermort gaped in shock, Harry grinned.

"You can't kill someone who is already dead." Harry said, showing his true form.

Voldermort gaped in shock.

"But unlike me, you're alive. And thanks to your servant, I can do this!" Harry held up his right paw, summoned his wand, and yelled the words he had learned but never uttered, "Avada Kedavra!"

Unlike with Harry, this curse landed, extinguishing the life of the greatest dark wizard of his time. Without a look back, Harry walked back to the battle.

…

Curses flew, some missing their marks while others hit. Hagrid and his half-brother, the giant Grawp were beginning to fall. Molly Weasley delivered a killing curse to Bellatrix Lestrange. However, the fighting stopped as everyone became aware of a fiery wolf standing in their wake.

"Hagrid!" Harry yelled.

"Harry?" Hagrid hollered back.

"Could you go into the forest and bring out the package I left?"

…

Moments later, Hagrid came out with the lifeless body of Voldermort. The sight caused the Death Eaters to flee and the other combatants to cheer. However, the cheers were broken off by a crack of lightning that changed into a creature.

It had a skull for a face and slits for eyes. Razor nubs of bone stuck out from around its arms and face, a skeletal tail reared back behind its enormous girth that dwarfed even Grawp. The Digidestined knew what it was, the lord of the Shadows, standing there in all his destructive might.

The Shadowed lord looked down at his prey and roared. At this roar, the witches and wizards fell, leaving only the Digidestined, the parents, and Vernon to stare.

Noticing the danger, the Digidestined began to glow. The parents looked on, not sure what to say until Satoe's voice rang out. "You can take him down Mimi!"

At this yell, the other parents and Vernon cried out their own encouragement. The screams woke the wizards up and they too added their calls to the chorus. The power of their hope, their will to see the Digidestined fight caused the non-Digidestined to glow. Then, beams of light shot into the Digidestined, who then began to change.

Harry emerged from the glowing vortex as a lion of flame. With a cry, he yelled out his mane, "Apollomon!"

"Houomon!"

"Wargreymon!"

"MetalGarurumon!"

"Seraphimon!"

"Vikemon!"

"Rosemon!"

"HerculesKabuterimon!"

"Megadramon!"

"Imperialdramon, Paladin Mode!"

"Valkyriemon!"

"Vikemon!"

"Gemimon!" Combining both of his partners together, Willis was now a large rabbit with two faces.

"Gallantmon, Crimson Mode!"

"Sakkuyamon!"

"MegaGargomon!"

"Justimon!"

"Cherubimon!"

""Hi-Andromon!"

"MarineAngemon!"

"SaberLeomon!"

"Beelzemon, Blast Mode!" The Issure siblings had somehow combined to form the dark angel Digimon.

"Aldamon!"

"Rhiamon!"

"RhinoKabuterimon!"

"JetSilphymon!"

"Beowulfmon!"

"Daiphenmon!"

"ShineGreymon, Burst Mode!"

"MirageGaogamon, Burst Mode!"

"Rosemon, Burst Mode!"

"Ravemon, Burst Mode!"

"KingChessmon!"

"QueenChessmon!"

"Kentarusmon!"

"GumboKamemon!"

"BanchoLeomon, Burst Mode!"

"Dianamon!" Sara had changed to a tall rabbit with spiked swords all over its body.

"MetalSeadramon!" Severus Snape had changed into a large sea-serpent with a metal body.

"SkullMeramon!" Dean now stood as a black warrior with flames shooting out of his body.

"Ophanimon!" Minerva was now the great angel Digimon.

"Dianamon!" Luna was also the moon-rabbit Digimon.

"Phoenixmon!"

"Lotosmon!" Petunia was a beautiful flower woman that carried a cadecus.

"Regulusmon!" Lavender was a great white Leomon.

Apollomon, Dianamon, Aldamon, and Lotosmon reached for their zanpakuto, released them and then gathered their energy even more. At last, they yelled in unison, "Bankai!"

Apollomon slipped out of his Digimon form, still retaining the power. Now he was a phoenix with dragon wings that carried a pair of burning blades. "Llosgi y galon tân!"

Sara's Bo staff was longer. However, she now wore a furry coat of light blue and white fur. "Cynddeiriog galon garedig!"

Takuya now held a blade made of fire that danced in an invisible wind. "Kūki no arekuruu honō!"

Surrounding Petunia was a circle of daggers, "Kōtō ha no kaze!"

As one, the Digidestined fought, some attacking the head, others the shoulders, stomach, chest. The digital power that coursed through everybody gave boundless energy to the Digidestined, energy that kept wounds closed and steps quick. Through the haze of battle, bits and pieces could be seen such as a dagger striking a rib or a punch being blocked by a tail. The battle dragged on until the dawn of the third day saw the roar of the evil Shadow. Somehow, HerculesKabuterimon had nicked a soft spot in an eyeball that had taken attention away from Sara's staff.

With a darting leap, Sara used the moon power of Dianamon to land on the creature's head, gathered all of her power, and with the words of her weapon as her guide, she shattered the thick skull. The pieces fell away to reveal a gigantic dragon head of blood-red which turned to Sara.

From the base of the neck, Hermione pulled her sword out, a weapon that was no longer bound by flesh.

In the instant that she had left, Sara stabbed the staff downward, mentally extending it until it pierced the heart underneath the lord's armor. As the lord disintegrated and Harry caught the falling Sara, the sky cleared and the sun shone through for the first time in months.

…

"Must you go?" Harry asked Takuya. The Digidestined were gathered in the now restored Digital World, a month later in June. As with all journeys, this one was coming to an end with the farewell of the Digidestined of the other worlds.

Takuya's eyes were full of tears as he hugged his friend. "I can't stay here. This is your world and you have to protect it."

"Somehow I don't think you'll stay away for long." Harry said.

"Of course, the wedding."

"Her parents are a little shocked that a fourteen year old is going to marry but we thought it might be better to do it now. Of course, we'll wait for other stuff."

Takuya smiled and the two turned to see the Eight Sovereign standing there, the great golden-bronze Fenglongmon in the center.

Seeing the look, the Sovereign nodded and together summoned a portal to take each person home.

At this thought, Harry chuckled. None of the Digidestined were human, each one now a half human half Digimon. In fact, it soon became apparent that the human side was actually the In-Training stage of each person.

Those who belonged in this world watched the others walk toward their portals and wave. At last, the final person was through and the portals closed.


	15. The last reunion

Many Years Later

Harry got out of bed and yawned. It was the day he had been waiting for and he knew he had to get ready. Today, the Digidestined would meet again, a sort of reunion for as Takuya put it, "It began with a reunion and it should end with one."

The fire-wolf walked down to the fire before using his body heat to start it up. While waiting for his wife, Sara Potter, he looked at the pictures that lined the walls. There was his youngest, Rukia. Over there were the twins, Lily and Zoe, and the eldest two, James and Takuya.

When he heard barking, Harry turned to see Sara coming downstairs with her dog, Sadie. Sadie was an old dog, now twenty that still loved to curl up on an available lap. Of course, she wasn't the only pet. Hedwig was off at school with the kids and Fawkes was probably perched by the door.

"Hi Harry." Sara said, giving him a quick kiss.

"Why hello Dianamon." Harry said, a direct reference to her Mega form.

"Don't get cute with me Apollomon." She snapped back, patting Sadie on the head.

"Well should we go?" Harry said.

"Mmm, lets."

…

It was a warm day in the Northern Sector of the Digital World. The glaciers glistened and the water sung, muted by the sound of excited hugs and swapped stories. Koji had managed to get Zoe while Takuya was interested in another girl who was helping to engineer a bridge in Kyoto. JP still hadn't found anyone but Tommy had a pair of twins waiting for him at home. Koichi had decided he wasn't marketable yet and loved to tease the others about this.

Kari and TK were celebrating five years together while Tai had just married Sora. Mimi was pregnant with Izzi's child and Joe was a doctor for a famous hospital. Matt had gone into music professionally, his patriotic songs appealing to all nations while his mystical ones had the younger generation dancing along.

Last year, Takato had finally tied the knot while Rika and Henry were planning their wedding. Kenta and Kazu had enlisted in the military, Mako and Suzie had fallen in love, and Ryo was beginning to have feelings for Ai.

Yolei and Ken had three kids while Davis had started up a noodle cart and Cody was writing a book about his adventures.

None of the DATS gang had found love, most of them working in the same police agency. With his new powers, Marcus was able to go to his Human World at times of peace, taking a break from policing the Digital World.

Minerva became a close friend to the Dursleys, learning a lot about the Muggle world. Hermione's parents had gotten used to their daughter's weapon two years ago and were now pushing her to find a husband. Lavender and Neville were married with both teaching at Hogwarts alongside Hermione. The most shocking pairing however was Luna and Ron, the romance coming out of nowhere. Even Draco had found love in Pansy who occasionally got visits from Fell. It was such a shock to see her friend with wings and a white robe but the visits were some of the best times they had.

As Harry surveyed the reunion, he couldn't help but think that he was glad he had followed Takuya that fateful day.


End file.
